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Low doses of bird flu vaccine 'are effective'8 September 2006 Scientists have claimed that, after early trials, low doses of a new vaccine against bird flu are safe and effective in humans. Vaccines against the potentially fatal bird flu disease H5N1 need to be effective in small doses to allow more people to be immunised against the disease in the event of a pandemic. H5N1 is a highly contagious form of bird flu, which is carried in migratory birds such as wild ducks and passed to domestic birds and poultry, causing fatalities. Although humans can currently only catch the virus via close contact with infected birds, experts fear the virus could mutate into a form which can be passed between humans, resulting in an influenza pandemic. Previous studies had shown that using two relatively large (30 microgram) doses of a vaccine containing part of the H5N1 virus performed better than tests with whole-virus vaccines. However, manufacturing limitations mean that at these doses there would only be enough vaccine for around 225 million people. In the new study, scientists showed that lower doses (10 micrograms or less) of a modified version of the whole H5N1 virus are also effective, meaning more vaccines can be manufactured in the event of a pandemic. Study author Weidong Yin states: "During a pandemic, the demand for influenza vaccines will far outstrip the manufacturing capacity of such vaccines." Dr Iain Stephenson from the Department of Infection and Tropical Medicine at Leicester Royal Infirmary adds that "These findings identify a potential dose-sparing approach that could be crucial for a global supply of pandemic vaccine." Recent news
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