EU team develops vaccine for one bird-flu strain

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European influenza experts have developed the first human vaccine for a virulent strain of bird flu that may be able to jump from poultry to humans, the EU’s executive Commission said on Thursday.

This virus strain, known as H7N1, is classified as highly pathogenic and caused lethal flu outbreaks among Italian poultry in 1999. But the risk of it emerging as a pandemic strain is lower than H5N1, which has killed more than 60 people in Asia.

A six-partner consortium from Britain, France and Italy — including academic and scientific institutions as well as the vaccines unit of Franco-German drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis — has developed the new vaccine, called RD-3.

Clinical trials will begin in spring 2006.

"Research shows that this particular avian flu virus can be transmitted to humans who are in direct contact with the infected animal," Philip Tod, the Commission’s spokesman for health and food safety, told a daily news briefing.

"This is part of the broad range of activities that the European Commission is undertaking to prepare ourselves for the eventuality of a human flu pandemic," he said.

Since the H7N1 virus was too dangerous for direct use in standard influenza vaccine production, it was modified to make it safe using a process known as reverse genetics and is the first vaccine not to use eggs in its production.

Experts consider bird flu as the single biggest threat to human health in the world today. The H5N1 virus has killed and forced the destruction of tens of millions of birds and can on occasion be transmitted to people, often killing them.

A vaccine is the best way to stop the virus spreading if it mutates into a form that could pass easily between humans, they say. But production of influenza vaccines is slow, and they do not work perfectly.