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Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/25/us-saudi-mers-vaccine-idUKBREA3O17L20140425
Experts cast doubt on Saudi push for Middle East virus vaccine
By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent
LONDON Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:06pm BST
(Reuters) - Official talk in Saudi Arabia of racing to develop a vaccine against a deadly new virus may be a way to reassure a fearful population, but it is scientifically wide of the mark and makes little sense in public health terms.
Experts in virology say the biochemical know-how is there to create a vaccine against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, but question why authorities would want to spend millions immunizing an entire population against a disease that has affected only a few hundred people.
Far better for public health, they say, would be to pin down the source of the infection - likely to be among animals, possibly camels or bats - and devise a strategy to halt the virus there...
Experts cast doubt on Saudi push for Middle East virus vaccine
By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent
LONDON Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:06pm BST
(Reuters) - Official talk in Saudi Arabia of racing to develop a vaccine against a deadly new virus may be a way to reassure a fearful population, but it is scientifically wide of the mark and makes little sense in public health terms.
Experts in virology say the biochemical know-how is there to create a vaccine against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, but question why authorities would want to spend millions immunizing an entire population against a disease that has affected only a few hundred people.
Far better for public health, they say, would be to pin down the source of the infection - likely to be among animals, possibly camels or bats - and devise a strategy to halt the virus there...