BELGIUM/ GERMANY: Scientists in Belgium carry out bird flu vaccine trials as Germany confirms first case of H5N1 in domestic fowl.

Record ID: 838769

  • Title: BELGIUM/ GERMANY: Scientists in Belgium carry out bird flu vaccine trials as Germany confirms first case of H5N1 in domestic fowl.
  • Date: 6th April 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR DOCTOR VOGELAERS, SPECIALIST IN INTERNAL MEDICINE INFECTIOUS DISEASES FROM GHENT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, SAYING: "So, once we would be able to identify such a virus then the clock begins to tick to have a vaccine developed as quickly as possible. So we need to use the couple of months that we hopefully have before the pandemic would rage as useful as possible in order to produce as much of the vaccine which would be indicated for that particular virus so we need to shorten the production lines and that is why all these exercises are worthwhile."
  • Embargoed: 21st April 2006 13:00
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  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Health
  • Reuters ID: LVAEK3MNTRA00L9QRL2A5F0636AI
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  • Story Text: Authorities in the eastern German state of Saxony said on Wednesday (April 5) that tests had confirmed for the first time the presence of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in domestic fowl.
    Scientists in Belgium started injecting 400 volunteers with a prototype of the H5N1 vaccine last week. The vaccines are part of an international clinical trial into ways of fighting a potential bird flu pandemic.
    Scientists cannot make a vaccine until the the pandemic actually hits populations and it could take up to six months before one is developed.
    The current tests, carried out by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are intended to clarify the type of protection a vaccine would give and speed up the process of producing a true vaccine once the pandemic hits. Germany is carrying out a parallel study with a further 400 volunteers.
    Both trials are testing the vaccine's safety and its ability to boost individuals' immune response against H5N1.
    Although there is no proof that the H5N1 bird flu virus can be transmitted from human to human it has already killed more than a hundred people. Most of the victims were from Asia and lived in close proximity with infected birds.
    Public health experts from around the globe fear that the virus may evolve into a strain triggering a worldwide pandemic.
    The Belgian GSK trials are testing a vaccine which has been injected with a new adjuvant system.
    It is made from inactivated (killed) H5N1 virus that triggers the immune system to create antibodies which will attack the virus in case of a real infection.
    The Centre for Vaccination (CEVAC) at Ghent University hospital started the vaccination trial last Monday (March 27) and will continue until mid-April. Results are expected in October.
    One of the volunteers, Peter Moens, works at Ghent University Hospital. He says he is taking part in the trial because he wants to keep travelling without fearing that he might get infected with the H5N1 virus.
    "Bird flu has evolved so much that I want to do everything to stop it so that we can keep going on holidays to the countries where it is already going on at the moment like in Turkey and like Egypt - where I want to go - so we can keep on doing it. That's why it is my intention to cooperate as much so that it can be stopped," said Moens.
    GSK says it is working on two types of vaccines; the first aims at mounting a strong defence against a pandemic outbreak and the second may offer governments a preferred option to stockpile and begin vaccination before the onset of a pandemic.
    Belgian clinical trial leader Doctor Geert Leroux-Roels, professor of immunology at Ghent University, says it is premature to say that this vaccine would work on whole populations since they need to know what the pandemic strain will be. He explained that GSK research is limited to ensuring the vaccine is safe.
    Another scientist from Ghent University Hospital, Dr Vogelaers, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) is monitoring the spread and development of the H5N1 virus worldwide.
    Vogelaers, a specialist in Internal Medicine Infectious Diseases, said this monitoring process will enable nation states to quickly identify a pandemic and take action at the level of vaccination
    "So once we would be able to identify such a virus then the clock begins to tick to have a vaccine developed as quickly as possible. So we need to use the couple of months that we hopefully have before the pandemic would rage as useful as possible in order to produce as much of the vaccine which would be indicated for that particular virus so we need to shorten the production lines and that is why all these exercises are worthwhile," Vogelaers said.
    Many governments are stockpiling small amounts of prototype H5N1 vaccines but none is planning to use them until a pandemic starts.
    The Belgian trial may encourage some countries to immunise sooner and offer the vaccine to large swathes of their population.
    The trials come as authorities in the eastern German state of Saxony said on Wednesday (April 5) that tests had confirmed for the first time the presence of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in domestic fowl.
    This is the second confirmed case of H5N1 in domestic fowl in the European Union after a case in France in late February.
    Several EU countries, including Germany, have reported cases in wild birds, but have managed to keep the virus out of domestic flocks.
    Earlier a spokesman for the Saxony social affairs and agriculture ministry said preliminary tests taken at a poultry farm with more than 14,000 turkey and geese showed the presence of the H5 virus and that follow-up tests were underway to determine whether it was the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain.
    It was not immediately clear whether the confirmation of H5N1 was referring to the same poultry farm in Saxony.
    A restricted quarantine zone with a radius of 3 km (2 miles) was established, along with a larger observation area inside a 13-km radius from the location of the H5N1-infected birds.
    Sacony Social Affairs Minister, Helma Orosz, told a news conference the entire poultry population in the area would be culled.
    "There is no question that the entire (poultry) population will be killed. This measure is necessary and we will implement it even if some people might consider it to be too excessive. Culling will already begin this evening. It is intended to use gas in the barn. In addition, we received a mobile electric killing unit from our colleagues in Thuringia."
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