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Bird flu vaccine supply might be stretched
HOUSTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say supplies of bird flu vaccine might be expanded through the use of an additive.
The scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine, led by Dr. Robert Atmar, say they achieved an effective immune response to an avian influenza vaccine with doses as low as one-quarter of the norm after adding a chemical mixture known as MF59.
For their study, the investigators used inactivated H9N2 influenza vaccines -- not the H5N1 virus currently feared as a potential pandemic strain. However, the study suggests if the feared pandemic occurs, adjuvants might be used to extend the vaccine supply. Furthermore, the authors noted, H9N2 is itself a pandemic threat.
"What we found was that when the adjuvant material was included in the vaccine -- at all dosage levels -- the antibody response was significantly better, and as low as one-quarter the dose worked very well," Atmar said. "And a single dose of the adjuvanted vaccine was as good as two doses of the vaccine without the adjuvant."
The research will appear in the Nov. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and is now available online at the journal's Web site.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060925-020339-8446r
HOUSTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say supplies of bird flu vaccine might be expanded through the use of an additive.
The scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine, led by Dr. Robert Atmar, say they achieved an effective immune response to an avian influenza vaccine with doses as low as one-quarter of the norm after adding a chemical mixture known as MF59.
For their study, the investigators used inactivated H9N2 influenza vaccines -- not the H5N1 virus currently feared as a potential pandemic strain. However, the study suggests if the feared pandemic occurs, adjuvants might be used to extend the vaccine supply. Furthermore, the authors noted, H9N2 is itself a pandemic threat.
"What we found was that when the adjuvant material was included in the vaccine -- at all dosage levels -- the antibody response was significantly better, and as low as one-quarter the dose worked very well," Atmar said. "And a single dose of the adjuvanted vaccine was as good as two doses of the vaccine without the adjuvant."
The research will appear in the Nov. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and is now available online at the journal's Web site.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060925-020339-8446r