MSNBC Tests show bird flu vaccine effective in people

[Guest guest]

>

>Tests show bird flu vaccine effective in people

>Human tests of an experimental vaccine show it

>is effective at stimulating the immune system to

>fight the bird flu strain that experts worry

>could spur a worldwide pandemic, a top

>government scientist said.

>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8859430/

>

Tests show bird flu vaccine effective in people

But new drug could take months to reach the public, health officials say

Reuters

Updated: 12:16 p.m. ET Aug. 8, 2005

 

 

WASHINGTON - Human tests of an experimental

vaccine show it is effective at stimulating the

immune system to fight the bird flu strain that

experts worry could spur a worldwide pandemic, a

top government scientist said Saturday.

 

The findings are a step forward but do not

overcome the major hurdle of producing enough

vaccine to meet demand in the event of a flu

pandemic, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious

Diseases. The vaccine is grown in chicken eggs

and production can take months.

 

Fauci said early analysis of tests in healthy

adults under age 65 showed the vaccine, which is

made by French company Sanofi-Aventis, produced a

strong immune response.

 

" It's an important landmark in the broader plan

of how you prepare a nation for pandemic flu, "

Fauci said in an interview.

 

But he added: " One of the sobering issues is, we

still haven't solved the problem that we have had

for years and years, which is vaccine-production

capability. Are we going to be able to make

enough of this stuff? "

 

The H5N1 strain has killed more than 50 people in

Asia since 2003. Public health experts say the

virus is mutating and could develop the ability

to spread easily from person to person and kill

millions in a flu pandemic.

 

Officials are working with vaccine makers to try

and find ways to manufacture the vaccine more

quickly.

 

Government scientists tested the Sanofi-Aventis

vaccine in about 450 healthy adults under age 65

and had analyzed data on about 113 of them, Fauci

said. The results showed the doses needed to

produce an immune response that would be expected

to protect against infection were higher than

what is usually given in an annual flu shot, he

said.

 

The test results were first reported by The New York Times.

 

Further tests in people 65 and older should begin

within a month or so, Fauci said. If those go

well, additional tests are expected in children.

 

The U.S. government has ordered 2 million doses

of the vaccine from Sanofi-Aventis for a national

stockpile and is negotiating with the company to

order more, Fauci said.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights

reserved. Republication or redistribution of

Reuters content is expressly prohibited without

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© 2005 MSNBC.com

 

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8859430/

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