CDC Overhauls Flu Vaccine
Posted on: Friday, 22 February 2008, 00:35 CST
Next year’s flu vaccines will consist of a completely revamped recipe due to three new influenza strains, but some obstacles remain.Each year, the Centers for Disease Control is faced with the task of foreseeing which strains of influenza will become most widespread during the following flu season. From this, they are able to create a vaccination formula that is best equipped to protect from the constantly mutating virus.
It is not common for the formulas to change from one year to the next. However on Thursday, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously supported the new vaccine, in a decision which echoes that of the World Health Organization.
The sudden decision to shift formulas will add extra pressure to its manufacturers this year.
"It's going to be a really busy spring and summer, and of course we're always looking for fallback positions just in case things don't work out well," said Dr . Nancy Cox, flu director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "There's a lot of work that will be going on ... to try and make sure that everything comes together in such a way that there will be plenty of vaccine."
The laboratories will face pressure when dealing with one strain in particular named Brisbane/10. First spotted in Australia late last winter, the strain cannot grow very quickly in the lab, which could slow down the new production.
However, a very similar virus, called "Brisbane/10-like" has been found in Uruguay, and may grow faster in labs while providing the same protection.
Each year’s vaccine contains protection against two varieties of the harsher Type A flu - subtypes known as H1N1 and H3N2 - and one from the more benign Type B family, according to Associated Press.
Next year’s new formula is expected to contain Brisbane/10, a new Type A strain called H1N1/Brisbane/59, and a Type B/Florida strain.
Dr Cox cautioned on Thursday, "as we always say, influenza is quite unpredictable." However, the CDC has a record in which they’ve successfully predicted effective vaccines for 16 of the last 19 flu seasons.
New formulas must be determined about 8 months in advance, in order to give manufacturers the best opportunity to have it ready on time.
"It's certainly a challenge for all the manufacturers," said Nancy Kavanaugh of Medimmune Inc., which makes a nasal spray flu vaccine, the only non-shot version.
"We're working with three new strains. ... There's some unknowns related to those and how they're going to grow."
The CDC says it’s too early to tell how destructive this year’s flu has been. Each year, the flu infects up to 20 percent of the population, hospitalizes 200,000 people and kills 36,000.
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Source: redOrbit Staff and Wire Reports
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