Avian Influenza Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Avian Influenza, including details on bird flu, h5n1, risks, vaccines, prevention.

Development of a mucosal vaccine for influenza viruses: preparation for a potential influenza pandemic.

Hasegawa H, Ichinohe T, Tamura S, Kurata T

Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Gakuen, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan. hasegawa@nih.go.jp

Highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza A virus has caused influenza outbreaks in poultry and migratory birds in Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe, and there is concern that it could cause a new pandemic. This fear of an emerging pandemic of a new influenza strain underscores the urgency of preparing effective vaccines to meet the pandemic. One way to mitigate current concerns is to develop an influenza vaccine that is fully functional against drift influenza viruses. In our current situation, in which we cannot predict which strain will cause a pandemic, cross-protective immunity using potential and novel mucosal vaccines plays a particularly important role in preventing the spread of highly pathogenic influenza virus.

Published 5 April 2007 in Expert Rev Vaccines, 6(2): 193-201.
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