Source: Xinhua

03-04-2009 17:09

Special Report:   Tech Max

HONG KONG, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A team of scientists from the University of Hong Kong and the United States on Sunday said they have developed a new vaccine strategy against the H5N1 bird flu virus by genetically modifying a smallpox vaccine.

A team of scientists from the University of Hong Kong and the United States on Sunday said they have developed a new vaccine strategy against the H5N1 bird flu virus by genetically modifying a smallpox vaccine.(File photo)

The new vaccine is potentially a sound solution in case of an H5N1 bird flu pandemic, which many scientists have been worried about, said Malik Peiris, a microbiologist and bird flu research authority at the University of Hong Kong.

Peiris said that the new vaccine has proven safer in experiments on mice and that "a single vaccine dose will provide rapid protective immune responses."

It is also expected to enable fast mass production thanks to the possibility of using cell-culture methods, which could help avoid potential production bottlenecks as eggs will have to be used in the production of vaccines currently on offer.

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