Influenza research

Influenza research involves investigating molecular virology, pathogenesis, host immune responses, genomics, and epidemiology regarding influenza. The main goal of research is to develop influenza countermeasures such as vaccines, therapies and diagnostic tools. Influenza research involves investigating molecular virology, pathogenesis, host immune responses, genomics, and epidemiology regarding influenza. The main goal of research is to develop influenza countermeasures such as vaccines, therapies and diagnostic tools. At least 12 companies and 17 governments are developing pre-pandemic influenza vaccines in 28 different clinical trials that, if successful, could turn a deadly pandemic infection into a nondeadly pandemic infection. A vaccine that could prevent any illness at all from the not-yet-existing pandemic influenza strain will take at least three months from the virus's emergence until full-scale vaccine production could begin; with vaccine production hoped to increase until one billion doses are produced by one year after the virus is first identified. Improved influenza countermeasures require basic research on how viruses enter cells, replicate, mutate, evolve into new strains and induce an immune response. Solutions to limitations in current vaccine methods are being researched. The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project was initiated in 2004 to create a library of influenza sequences to understand what makes one strain more lethal than another, what genetic determinants most affect immunogenicity, and how the virus evolves over time. Before 2004, all previous highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) virus strains circulated only among domesticated poultry and by culling all of them in the area, the strains were made extinct. Previous HPAI strains only existed in domesticated birds. A wild bird's LPAI would mutate in a domestic flock into an HPAI strain, all domestic birds in the area would be killed, and the HPAI strain would no longer have any hosts and thus would no longer exist. This current HPAI H5N1 strain has turned out to be different. In October 2004 researchers discovered H5N1 is far more dangerous than previously believed because waterfowl, especially ducks, were directly spreading the highly pathogenic strain of H5N1. From this point on, avian flu experts increasingly referred to containment as a strategy that can delay but not prevent a future avian flu pandemic. Nonetheless, there is still hope it will mutate into some low pathogenic strain over time and no longer exist in its current high pathogenic set of strains. But as time has gone on, the hope has come to look less and less likely. The result is that billions of dollars every year are going to be needed in expenditures that would not be required if it did go away. Poultry farming is especially hard hit. How to best spend pandemic mitigation funds and poultry farming protection funds is a question that to be answered requires billions in flu research and new flu vaccine manufacturing factories. Since avian flu is not going away as was hoped, more data is needed to figure out how best to cope. Governments are funding a variety of studies from cell culture of flu viruses to H5N1 vaccination effectiveness to adjuvants to wild bird migration patterns to wild bird avian flu subtype distribution to poultry flu vaccination etc. The information being gathered is increasing the world's ability to keep H5N1 contained, limiting its speed and extent of mutation, and buying time for new flu vaccine manufacturing methods and factories to come on line so that when the next flu pandemic happens the death toll can be minimized. See Prospects for universal flu vaccines The US government on May 4, 2006 awarded five-year contracts for 'more than $1 billion to five drug manufacturers developing technology for speedier mass production of vaccines in the event of a pandemic' from the $3.8 billion pandemic preparedness bill passed in 2005. 'The federal government says its goal is to be able to distribute a vaccine to every American within six months of a pandemic. Currently, flu vaccines are produced in specialized chicken eggs, but that technique does not allow for speedy mass vaccinations.' The companies receiving the contracts were: The US government purchased from Sanofi Pasteur and Chiron Corporation several million doses of vaccine meant to be used in case of an influenza pandemic due to H5N1 and is conducting clinical trials on them. ABC News reported on April 1, 2006 that 'Beginning in late 1997, the human trials have tested 30 different vaccines, all pegged to the H5N1 virus.'