Health experts to reveal new influenza drugs

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Health experts to reveal new influenza drugs

By Charmaine Kane Posted October 7, 2010 09:05:00

The head of a medical research facility on Queensland's Gold Coast says his

teams are about to unveil new drugs to combat potentially lethal influenzas.

Dr Mark von Itzstein says the preparations developed at the Griffith University

Institute of Glycomics could treat infections like bird and swine flu.

Professor von Itzstein recently returned from Indonesia where he addressed a

scientific workshop on the issue.

He says swine flu has proved to be less of a threat than feared but scientists

are concerned it could mix with bird flu and the result would be a deadly

pandemic.

" A lot of loss of life, greater than 65 , 70 per cent of people infected with

bird flu die - that would be horrendous, " he said.

" Under those circumstances you could imagine that the various drug approval

agencies would be desperate to get the drugs expedited. "

The institute is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/07/3031685.htm