Malaysian strain of bird flu virus to be used in vaccine
Kuala Lumpur: A unique strain of bird flu virus, which caused recent outbreaks in Malaysia, has been isolated by the country's scientists and will be used to create a vaccine worldwide against the pandemic.
"We have detected this virus (that caused outbreaks in 2004 and last year), which is unique to Malaysia. The virus will be used in the formulation of vaccines to flight Flu B," Malaysia's health minister Chua Soi Lek was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily.
The B strain of the virus, though not as severe as the influenza A virus, can prove fatal for young children and the elderly, it said.
Pharmaceutical companies have been directed by the World Health Organisation to include the new strain in the vaccines prepared to take on the next flu season, the report said.
Kuala Lumpur: A unique strain of bird flu virus, which caused recent outbreaks in Malaysia, has been isolated by the country's scientists and will be used to create a vaccine worldwide against the pandemic.
"We have detected this virus (that caused outbreaks in 2004 and last year), which is unique to Malaysia. The virus will be used in the formulation of vaccines to flight Flu B," Malaysia's health minister Chua Soi Lek was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily.
The B strain of the virus, though not as severe as the influenza A virus, can prove fatal for young children and the elderly, it said.
Pharmaceutical companies have been directed by the World Health Organisation to include the new strain in the vaccines prepared to take on the next flu season, the report said.
Comment