So the universal vaccine acts on the M2e protein segment, which cannot undergo changes. What are the other advantages of a universal vaccine?
With the universal vaccine we can, just like for polio, give an immunization—and then again, a month later, another immunization, and perhaps a year later another one. You have more possibilities to induce a full-blown immunity.
Would you say that the phase I trial done by Acambis, based in Cambridge, U.K., and Cambridge, Mass., has been successful?
Yes, our technology has been licensed to Acambis, which has done the trial and has published the results in a press release. The results are promising: 90 percent of the vaccinated people were found to be seropositive. But we don't know whether the antibodies that are induced are antibodies that protect. We have done the equivalent trial with ferrets. We can give them a "challenge"—that is, infect them with H5N1, and we found that they were well-protected.
Why ferrets?
Ferrets are known to mirror what happens to humans. If you give a flu virus to ferrets, they develop an analogous pathology to humans.
What are the plans for a phase II trial?
First, you will have to do the trial with a large number of people. Second, you will have to find an area where there is a large probability that an influenza epidemic will take place. We are thinking of countries from the Southern Hemisphere. We have to be lucky in pinpointing such an area, and it will require the inoculation of thousands of people.
Another possibility, but we are less attracted to this, is giving people a challenge, where one infects people with a virus. Often one can recover from a virus infection. But an induced infection is less convincing than if we would do a real field trial.
In your view, another requirement for a vaccine to stave off a pandemic is that it should be administered via nasal drops?
For me it is clear that if there will be a pandemic, the chance that this happens is not in the rich West, but in the developing world. The first victims will be found in the enormous cities, in the poverty around these cities. We will have to vaccinate these people quickly, and medical workers injecting people is too slow.
The solution is to administer the vaccine nasally; nose drops can be administered by anyone. We have noticed that with intranasal administration with mice we obtain titers [antibody concentration] as high as with intramuscular injection. We expect that this will also work when applied to humans. But we still have a lot of work ahead of us.
This story was originally printed with the title, "Beating the Flu".
See what we're tweeting about
2 Comments
Add CommentHistorical Facts About Influenza:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe last influenza pandemic occurred nearly 100 years ago, and resulted in about 50 million deaths worldwide. Those who survived have allowed others to obtain antibodies from them to develop other antibodies for future viral outbreaks that may occur. This last influenza pandemic also allowed others to obtain this virus from those who died as a result to facilitate effective treatments and vaccines for viral outbreaks that may happen in the future as well.
With influenza, it is understood that the disease influenza is a disease caused by a RNA virus that can infect both mammals and birds. In fact, this particular virus can mutate to where it can be shared between the two life forms and multiply within each one of them. Unlike coryza, influenza expresses symptoms more severely, and usually lasts two weeks until one recovers who has the flu. Influenza, however, poses a danger to some with compromised immune systems, such as the chronically ill. In cases such as this, influenza can in fact progress to deadly pneumonia. Symptoms of influenza usually start to express themselves symptomatically 36 hours after being infected with the virus. Over 10 percent of the population are infected with this virus every year- resulting in about 200,000 hospitalizations and nearly 40,000 deaths.
The flu vaccination contains three viral strains of suspected viruses for flu outbreaks during a particular winter season, as determined by the World Health Organization, as well as the Centers for Disease Control, and other organizations. Unfortunately, the influenza vaccine administered last flu season was largely ineffective due to unsuspected strains of the virus infecting others, although about 140 million doses of this vaccine were administered. After giving the vaccination dose to one, it takes about 10 days for that person to build up an immunity for the disease of influenza.
The influenza season peaks between the months of January and March. The vaccine for this influenza season is manufactured by 6 different companies. Yet the strains chosen are speculated influenza viruses, as this does not eliminate the chance of a new and dominant influenza viral strain that possibly could cause a pandemic. It takes manufacturers about 6 months to make and formulate the influenza vaccination. There is a vaccine for this illness that is produced every year according to which type of virus may be prevalent during a particular flu season. The vaccination is recommended to be administered to those who are at high risk, such as the chronically ill. Also, it is recommended that those under 18 years of age get the vaccine, as well as those people over the age of 50. Furthermore, those people who regularly take aspirin should receive the vaccine, as the influenza disease can become a catalyst for Reye’s Syndrome. Pregnant women should receive the vaccine as well- as there are many other vaccines available to fortunately prevent other diseases, perhaps.
Vaccines add to the toxic overload of the body, and mercury (Thimerosol) increases vulnerability.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHere is a quote (complements of Mark Sircus of the International Medical Veritas Association IMVA) from Dr. Eleanor McBean who lived through the 1918 influenza epidemic and testified, "As far as I could find out, the flu hit only the vaccinated. Those who had refused the shots escaped the flu. My family had refused all the vaccinations so we remained well all the time. There was seven times more disease among the vaccinated soldiers than among the unvaccinated civilians, and the diseases were those they had been vaccinated against."
Tamiflu is not a cure and can have dangerous psychiatric side effects resulting in suicide or serious injury or death while trying to flee or escape an imaginary danger. It offers false hope and is a cash cow for drug companies. I put all vaccines in the same category. Most drugs only treat symptoms and with dangerous side effects.
Personal things you can do. First of all stay well hydrated by drinking lots of pure water. According to Mark Sircus http://www.naturalallopathic.com our most potent natural weapons against any virus, microbe, fungi, yeast, etc. including influenza are: Transdermally(via the skin) applied Magnesium Chloride (ancientminerals.com has the purest form), Iodine (Nascent Iodine, Lugol's, 7% solution or the stuff off the shelf), and Sodium Bicarbonate. The skin is the largest organ of the body and absorbs what it needs. I recommend Mark's website and books to understand how these inexpensive minerals are so powerful and important to maintaining health.
In addition, Jim Humble discovered the secret of turning Stabilized Oxygen (usually sold in stores as a 3.5% solution of Sodium Chlorite, NaClO2) into the most potent pathogen killer known to man, Chlorine Dioxide, ClO2. It destroys all harmful viruses, microbes, fungi, and yeast in the body (Malaria, influenza, Aids, etc.) while leaving helpful organisms alone. He starts with 15 drops of a 28% solution of Sodium Chlorite (MMS, Miracle Mineral Supplement,Google it) to which he adds 1/2 teaspoon of either fresh lemon or lime juice, or vinnegar (5% acid content). Wait 3 minutes. This creates about 3 milligrams of Chlorine Dioxide when 4 ounces of pure apple juice is added (or just use water). You drink this and it continues to generate chlorine dioxide for the next 12 hours in the body. It oxidizes any pathogen it contacts by accepting 5 electrons of charge, leaving a salt and water residual. Totally safe.