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LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY: Database Provides a New Weapon in Fight Against Influenza

Posted on: Saturday, 18 February 2006, 15:00 CST

By Andy Lenderman, The Santa Fe New Mexican

Feb. 18--Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have organized a database to track thousands of varieties of influenza from around the world in an effort to assist researchers.

The Influenza Sequence Database, created in 1998, has files on more than 22,000 genetic sequences. The database "contains all published influenza viral sequences," according to its Web site, and allows scientists to study how viruses evolve. It also assists researchers working on flu vaccines and helps them study how a virus works in people or animals that get the disease, lab officials said.

"The idea is to have a single place where flu researchers can deposit their flu sequences that they're coming up with all the time," said Allen Morris, a licensing executive in the lab's Tech Transfer Division.

For example, if bird flu popped up in two different countries, researchers from each could compare the two versions for similarities, he said.

At the moment, health professionals are most concerned about an avian-flu virus found in eastern Asia -- called H5N1 -- that could one day lead to a global disease outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The virus continues to evolve, and about half of all people infected die, the CDC reports on its Web site.

The budget for the project is about $250,000 this fiscal year. Money comes from the federal Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Energy, the University of California and internal lab funding dedicated to scientific research.

The project is headed by research scientist Catherine Macken, who spends about 20 percent of her time on the database. Two full-time technicians manage the database.

Last October, the lab terminated free, public access to the more detailed areas of the database and converted to a subscription-service plan. Access to the site costs companies $4,000 -- non-profits pay $1,500 -- and proceeds go to cover basic costs of the database, Macken said on the project's site.

Morris said that at least 50 science labs and private companies around the world are now using the database.

"We have no way of knowing which exact tool will be the one that helps provide a vaccine or better treatment," lab spokeswoman Nancy Ambrosiano said by e-mail. "But the sharing of fundamental data is central to the traditional scientific inquiry."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Santa Fe New Mexican

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Source: The Santa Fe New Mexican

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