H5N1 Vaccine confers cross-protection in animal models

Researchers at St Jude Children's Hospital in Tennessee, USA, say that their developmental bird flu (H5N1) vaccine may afford humans protection against future variants of the virus. The group reported that the vaccine provided complete protection in animal models against the original target virus, as-well-as a newer variant that has already proved fatal to humans.

The work, which was carried out with support from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases, demonstrated that the vaccine limited viral replication, thereby preventing the infection spreading from the upper respiratory tract to the lungs or brain. A prepublication report of the study appears in the on-line edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.