Shannon Bennett
Well-known member
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/23Aug2006_news17.php
What signs have been found that Tamiflu may be losing its punch?
[SIZE=-1]APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL[/SIZE]
<!--img--><!--/img-->Genetic mutations in the H5N1 virus strain of bird flu could hinder the development of a human vaccine against the deadly disease in Thailand, said virologists and influenza experts. ''Vaccine study based on only one type of the H5N1 strain of bird flu is no longer enough if we want to protect people from the disease, especially in the event a human pandemic occurs,'' said Prasert Auewarakul, a virologist at Siriraj Hospital, Faculty of Medicine.
The virus was unstable and could mutate, he told a conference on influenza pandemic preparations held at the National Red Cross Society.
An emerging type of H5N1 recently detected in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom was different from that which has spread in the central and the northern regions since the first outbreak was confirmed in early 2004.
Dr Prasert, who has been monitoring changes in the bird flu virus, said clinical studies on vaccines in Thailand were based only on the virus type found before the Nakhon Phanom outbreak. In addition, the scale of the research and development into bird flu vaccines in the country was relatively small.
The production of a vaccine against bird flu would not be sufficient for the entire population unless a vaccine plant was built, he added.
Apart from difficulties in vaccine development, increased signs of virus resistance to the anti-viral drug oseltamivir had prompted researchers to re-examine how successful current medical treatment was for people who contracted the virus.
Tawee Chotpitayasunondh, a member of the Public Health Ministry's human avian flu study panel, said medical experts from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam would study if the amount of oseltamivir given to treat people contracting H5N1 was sufficient. The two-year research project would kick off within this year.
To date, people contracting H5N1 have been treated with two tablets of oseltamivir per day for five days running, in line with ministry guidelines.
Over the past century, there have been three major influenza pandemics among humans caused by the H1N1, H2N2 and H3N2 strains of the virus.
Scientists and medical experts fear that the H5N1 strain could mutate and spread from human to human
What signs have been found that Tamiflu may be losing its punch?
[SIZE=-1]APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL[/SIZE]
<!--img--><!--/img-->Genetic mutations in the H5N1 virus strain of bird flu could hinder the development of a human vaccine against the deadly disease in Thailand, said virologists and influenza experts. ''Vaccine study based on only one type of the H5N1 strain of bird flu is no longer enough if we want to protect people from the disease, especially in the event a human pandemic occurs,'' said Prasert Auewarakul, a virologist at Siriraj Hospital, Faculty of Medicine.
The virus was unstable and could mutate, he told a conference on influenza pandemic preparations held at the National Red Cross Society.
An emerging type of H5N1 recently detected in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom was different from that which has spread in the central and the northern regions since the first outbreak was confirmed in early 2004.
Dr Prasert, who has been monitoring changes in the bird flu virus, said clinical studies on vaccines in Thailand were based only on the virus type found before the Nakhon Phanom outbreak. In addition, the scale of the research and development into bird flu vaccines in the country was relatively small.
The production of a vaccine against bird flu would not be sufficient for the entire population unless a vaccine plant was built, he added.
Apart from difficulties in vaccine development, increased signs of virus resistance to the anti-viral drug oseltamivir had prompted researchers to re-examine how successful current medical treatment was for people who contracted the virus.
Tawee Chotpitayasunondh, a member of the Public Health Ministry's human avian flu study panel, said medical experts from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam would study if the amount of oseltamivir given to treat people contracting H5N1 was sufficient. The two-year research project would kick off within this year.
To date, people contracting H5N1 have been treated with two tablets of oseltamivir per day for five days running, in line with ministry guidelines.
Over the past century, there have been three major influenza pandemics among humans caused by the H1N1, H2N2 and H3N2 strains of the virus.
Scientists and medical experts fear that the H5N1 strain could mutate and spread from human to human