Friday, October 20

Bird Flu Breakthrough?

A San Diego based bio-tech company has accomplished what they are calling a 100% effective single dose vaccine for the bird flu.

(Red Herring)The advantage of a vaccine that can be delivered in a single dose lies in the fact that the production capacity for other drugs used to treat bird flu—namely the neuraminidase inhibitor Tamiflu—is frighteningly limited. According to the World Health Organization, even though the present production of Tamiflu was recently quadrupled, it would take a decade to produce enough of the drug to treat just 20 percent of the world’s population. The development of a single-dose vaccine could be a major victory should the bird flu become more widespread.
It's nice to see the effort being made on finding a bird flu vaccine. It wasn't too long ago when there wasn't much in the way of a vaccine, and now companies are claiming 100% effectiveness with just one shot.