Progress towards a swine flu vaccine
It's good to see progress is being made towards a vaccine against the new influenza A(H1N1) virus strain, more commonly known as swine flu. has just announced that it has produced a strain of virus suitable for a vaccine. at the HPA laboratories in Hertfordshire.
The team at NIBSC (the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control) is one of a small number worldwide working on producing a safe "seed strain" virus. This will now be sent to vaccine manufacturers who will get it ready for full-scale production as and when the World Health Organisation declares a flu pandemic or directs them that the time is right to switch from production of seasonal flu vaccines to a pandemic strain.
NIBSC received its original swine flu virus from the (CDC) in Atlanta which is co-ordinating the scientific response to this novel form of influenza. So it's not surprising that the CDC is a few days ahead of scientists in the UK.
Yesterday, Sanofi Pasteur, which has vaccine plants in France and the US . Clearly this is not a race. For something of such potential importance as a pandemic flu vaccine, it's good to know there are several teams working on it.
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