Fw: Vaccinations Against Bird Flu Should Happen Now, Say Experts

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[mbvp] Vaccinations Against Bird Flu Should Happen Now, Say Experts

The report says that if pre-priming with an H5N1 vaccine becomes an

acceptable strategy, thought should be given to including this in the

regular seasonal flu vaccines.

The experts say that although it is still unclear if a bird flu pandemic

will emerge, because of the potential high death rate and huge economic cost

" we simply cannot afford to ignore it as a major global threat. " They point

out that estimates of global deaths from bird flu have suggested that up to

350 million people could die.

The candidate vaccine contains the bird flu strain H5N1 and an adjuvant

called MF59.

He added: " If governments are thinking about stockpiling vaccine, you could

actually be stockpiling it in people's arms. "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/128049.php

Vaccinations Against Bird Flu Should Happen Now, Say Experts

People should be vaccinated now against bird flu rather than waiting for a

global pandemic to erupt, an international panel of experts - including a

leading British influenza specialist - say in a new report. 1

The influenza researchers say the World Health Organisation (WHO) and

national governments should give " urgent consideration " to the idea of

priming people in advance of bird flu with a preparatory vaccination.

The idea is to give people a vaccination now against bird flu to build up

the immune system, while there is still plenty of time to organise the

programme, then give them a booster shot when the pandemic is imminent. The

primed people could be protected in a week as opposed to six weeks. 2

The experts, including Professor Karl Nicholson, from Leicester University,

state: " We think that WHO and governments should give urgent consideration

to the potential risks and benefits of priming people who would be at

greatest risk of infection if a pandemic of H5N1 influenza were to emerge

(frontline laboratory and health-care workers), with the view to cautiously

introducing a programme of immunisation. "

In a report in the latest edition of the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases

the researchers point out that a conventional vaccination policy against

bird flu requires two doses of H5N1 vaccine before people are protected

" which may be logistically difficult to organise " .

They say there may be no warning before a pandemic suddenly appears, as the

early danger signs may be missed.

" However, pre-pandemic priming has the potential to evoke a more rapid

antibody (defence cell) response that might ameliorate the disease, cutting

hospital admissions, deaths, and onward transmission of the virus, " say the

doctors.

The report says that if pre-priming with an H5N1 vaccine becomes an

acceptable strategy, thought should be given to including this in the

regular seasonal flu vaccines.

The experts say that although it is still unclear if a bird flu pandemic

will emerge, because of the potential high death rate and huge economic cost

" we simply cannot afford to ignore it as a major global threat. " They point

out that estimates of global deaths from bird flu have suggested that up to

350 million people could die.

The report concludes: " The maximum benefit from using a pre-pandemic vaccine

may be gained from priming populations before there is evidence of a novel

virus emerging and spreading, when systematic supply, distribution and

vaccination strategies can be put in place. "

Just a few weeks ago a team of researchers from Leicester University,

including Professor Nicholson, together with vaccination experts from the

Health Protection Agency, gave details of a British study showing that

pre-priming people could give protection against bird flu within a week. 2

That study, released in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine,

looked at an experimental pre-pandemic vaccine being developed by Novartis

Vaccines.

The candidate vaccine contains the bird flu strain H5N1 and an adjuvant

called MF59. (An adjuvant is a substance used to improve the response of the

immune system to a vaccine.)

The study looked at how quickly people mounted a protective immune response

against H5N1 if they had already been pre-vaccinated with a different kind

of flu vaccine, using a strain known as H5N3 together with MF59.

The pre-vaccinated people received their first vaccination between 1999 and

2001 as part of earlier studies.

Two groups, involving around 60 British patients, were involved in the

study - one set who had been pre-vaccinated and another set that had not.

By day seven 80% of the primed group showed a protective response after one

shot of the adjuvanted vaccine compared to 20% in the un-primed group.

Study investigator Dr Iain son, from University Hospitals Leicester,

said: " With the pre-priming approach you could choose certain groups in

advance, for instance health care workers, and almost vaccinate at leisure.

Then you would only a need a week to provide protection. "

The New England Journal of Medicine study was welcomed by other flu experts.

Dr Wood, from the National Institute for Biological Standards and

Control, a government funded body which helps in the production and testing

of vaccines for emerging flu strains, told the BBC: " The fact that they seem

to have this protection after eight years is really interesting. "

He added: " If governments are thinking about stockpiling vaccine, you could

actually be stockpiling it in people's arms. "

An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza strain emerges (one to

which humans have no immunity), mutates and spreads globally as a virus.

Although it is not possible to predict the actual pandemic influenza strain,

global health authorities have identified H5N1 avian influenza as a strain

with the greatest pandemic potential in humans. 3

H5N1 is currently circulating in birds and has caused serious illness in

more than 380 people worldwide with a mortality rate, among people known to

have been infected, of greater than 60 percent. 4.

The purpose of pre-pandemic vaccination is to prime the immune system to

better defend against infections from an H5N1 influenza virus and is

intended for use before the World Health Organization (WHO) declares an

influenza pandemic.

MF59 is used in a vaccine against seasonal flu specially designed for older

people who have weaker immune systems so do not respond so well to

traditional vaccines, although this particular vaccine is not currently

available in the UK. More than 40 million doses have been distributed

worldwide since 1997. 5

References

1 Jennings LC et al. Stockpiling prepandemic influenza vaccines: a new

cornerstone of pandemic preparedness plans. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2008;

8: 650-658

2. son I et al. Antigenically distinct MF59-adjuvanted vaccine to

boost immunity to H5N1. New England Journal of Medicine 2008; October 9:

1631-1633

3. World Health Organization Avian influenza H5N1 infection in humans, WHO

Web site: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_01_22/en/index.html, accessed

August 22, 2008

4. World Health Organization Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of

Avian Influenza, WHO Web site, accessed August 19, 2008

5. Company data on file.

Source

Zarina Baloch

Public Relations Department

Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics UK

Frimley Business Park

Frimley, Camberley, Surrey GU16 7SR

United Kingdom

http://www.novartis.com

Randi J. Airola, © 517-819-5926