Acise Technology Limited

4 (2 votes)

Scientists from all over the world have teamed up to track the way the seasonal flu virus travels from its origins in East and Southeast Asia to exactly where it fizzles out in South America. They hope the discovery will support to improve flu vaccines by making it easier to anticipate how the virus evolves.

The discovery is to be published within the 18 April 2008 edition of Science and may be the work of scientists in the University of Cambridge as well as the World Well being Organisation (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance Network. The Network comprises 100 labs in 80 countries around the globe.

Scientists have established that since 2002, new “seed strains” of the the typical type A (H3N2) human flu virus arise each year in what the study authors describe as the “East and Southeast Asian circulation network”, which includes countries in tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones, spanning Malaysia, western Indonesia, Korea and Japan.

According to the World Well being Organization (WHO), about 5 to 15 per cent of the world’s population catches the flu every year, resulting in 3 to five million serious instances and between quarter and half a million deaths. Some 300 million people are vaccinated each year against seasonal flu.

In February and September every year, WHO specialists, numerous of whom co-authored this study, meet to select the strains of flu to use in preparing the coming season’s vaccine. They base their selection on what they consider to be the strains that are most likely to pose the greatest threat.

A significant challenge in making this selection is not knowing exactly what migration pattern the flu virus strains follow, which until now has been somewhat of a mystery. There have been several theories, such as the virus follows the seasons, or it circulates continuously in the tropics and breaks out now and again, or that it migrates out of China.

Cambridge epidemiologist and study co-author Colin Russell and colleagues examined 13,000 global samples of the type A (H3N2) virus that were collected in between 2002 and 2007 by the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network.

By analysing the samples they identified which strains in A (H3N2) caused one of the most illness in each and every of the five years at every point of their journey worldwide. They also determined the path of that journey, which starts in East and Southeast Asia, then six to nine months later reaches Europe and North America. Several months after that the virus strains travel to South America, and rarely return to their origins in Asia, stated the authors.

Scientists don’t know why, but flu epidemics typically occur during winter in temperate regions within the northern and southern hemispheres, and in tropical regions they mostly break out during the rainy season. These two diverse types of region overlap in East and Southeast Asia, which the authors suggest give the flu virus the chance to keep circulating all year round, giving rise to new strains that break out and travel around the world.

Corresponding author Derek Smith, also from the University of Cambridge said:

“Flu epidemics appear to be driven by seasonal elements such as winter, or rainy seasons. So there can be cities that are only 700 miles away from every single other, such as Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, which have epidemics six months apart.”

“There is a lot of variability like this in East and Southeast Asia, so lots of opportunity for an epidemic in 1 country to seed an epidemic to another nearby country, like a baton passed by runners in a relay race,” he added.

On the whole, said the authors, the seasonal flu vaccine is successful at protecting the 300 million folks that are vaccinated each year, since the vaccine selection specialists hit on the right combination of subtypes. But every now and again a new strain emerges after the selection is created.

Smith stated the goal of the collaborative effort is to increase the capability to predict the new strains every year, and this study was another step in that direction, and particulary:

“Highlights the importance of ongoing collaborations and surveillance in East and Southeast Asia, and expanding these collaborations in the future,” said Smith.

A key approach used in the study was the analysis of genetic and “antigenic” data. The initial comes from studying the genetics of the virus itself, and the second comes from studying immune system reactions to the virus, and how each alter as the virus evolves on its journey around the globe.

To map the evolutionary trajectory of the virus, the authors utilized an innovative personal computer based quantitative technique referred to as “antigenic cartography”, created by researchers at Erasmus Medical Center, Los Alamos National Laboratory as well as the University of Cambridge.

Using this strategy scientists can compare thousands of viruses at a time and map the differences between them in such a way that they can trace their evolutionary path more than time.

Dr Elias A Zerhouni, director of the US National Institutes of Wellness, whose Pioneer Award programme co-sponsored the study, stated:

“By applying an innovative strategy to map differences in seasonal influenza strains worldwide, Smith and his colleagues have offered crucial insights into patterns of influenza virus spread that could greatly improve surveillance and vaccine strain selection.”

Zerhouni added that this investigation showed the value of “supporting exceptionally inventive approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioural research”.

The importance of worldwide timely colloboration among the several scientists within the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network cannot be under-emphasized. The flu virus evolves so quickly that the scientists are essentially “tracking its evolution in real time”, said Smith.

“Because flu evolves so quickly, flu science and public wellness necessarily go hand in hand,” he added.

“The global circulation of seasonal influenza A(H3N2) viruses.”
Science, To be published early on-line on 18 April 2008.

Click here for Science.

Click here to learn more about seasonal flu (WHO factsheet).

Source: University of Cambridge press release, WHO.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Nowadays

3 (1 votes)

AirInSpace, a leading supplier of mobile devices that “catch and kill” harmful and resistant biological particles from the air, announced that its partner, Montreal-based Air Information Inc. (ADI), has been certified by the airworthiness branch of Transport Canada to manufacture and market ADI’s JetAir? Bio-Protection System (BPS), enterprise jet version. The BPS is based on AirInSpace’s patented Plasmer? technology, which also is becoming used within the International Space Station (ISS), and in hospitals under the brand name HEPA-MD?.

Certification of the BPS establishes the airworthiness of the product so that ADI’s customers may possibly proceed with aircraft BPS installations, initially on Bombardier? Global Series aircraft. ADI previously announced the definitive outcomes of avian flu testing on its Bio-Protection System. Conducted at the Laboratoire de Virologie et Pathog??n????se Virale in Lyon, France, the tests showed a complete reduction of avian flu viruses by the BPS-i.e., from a high concentration of virus at its inlet to an undetectable level exiting the unit.

“At a time of increasing worries inside the aviation industry relating to on-aircraft exposure to emerging risks like the avian flu, we are very pleased to be able to confirm the availability of a solution that will enhance the wellness and security of the traveling public to new levels,” stated Jean-Pierre Lepage, President of Air Data. “One of the main breakthroughs associated with AirInSpace’s cold plasma technologies is its ability not only to remove biological contaminants from cabin air but also to destroy them completely. In the case of avian flu, this really is particularly important, given the capability of this specific organism to remain potent for several days within the external environment.”

“Air Data’s JetAir? BPS provides a quantum leap in airplane air purity, protecting each passengers and crew from a wide range of air contaminants, especially biological threats such as SARS and avian flu,” stated Laurent Fullana, CEO of AirInSpace. “We are extremely pleased that the BPS resolution utilizes our patented cold plasma ionic interaction technologies as pioneered in space and utilized these days to protect astronauts on the International Space Station as well as patients and staff in more than 100 international hospitals. The inactivation and germicidal effects of our plasma technology have been demonstrated even against among the most resistant microorganisms: Bacillus atrophaeus spores, an anthrax surrogate.”

About Air Data Inc. (ADI)

Since 1990, Air Information has manufactured and supplied the aircraft market having a wide range of specialized avionics equipment and cabin air quality improvement systems, which includes humidification, precision landing, air data computers and airborne sensors. Major customers include Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer and Gulfstream, as well as major airlines such as Singapore Airlines, JAL, Emirates, Qantas and numerous others. For more, please visit http://www.jetair.aero.

About AirInSpace

Founded in 2002, AirInSpace offers an innovative range of products and services to address the require for microbial decontamination of air in hospitals along with other environments.

http://www.airinspace.com

five (1 votes)

According towards the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year’s seasonal flu vaccine has only been 44 per cent powerful. And depending on how you look in the effectiveness in the different strains, it would appear overall to be the least successful vaccine for since the 1997-98 flu season when the vaccine effectiveness was essentially zero, the CDC told a press conference.

The 44 per cent effectiveness figure comes from a CDC study whose findings are published in this week’s issue of the federal agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), dated 17th April 2008.

The 44 per cent figure will be the overall vaccine effectiveness for influenza type A (H3N2), and influenza type B. Type A H3N2 constitutes the majority of the strains circulating so far this year.

When broken down, the effectiveness of the trivalent inactivated vaccine (flu shot) in preventing medically attended laboratory confirmed influenza for type A (H3N2) was discovered to be 58 per cent, but for type B the effectiveness was found to be zero. So this year, the vaccine has essentially offered no protection against the type B strain.

The study was carried out at the CDC Marshfield clinic in Wisconsin, involving patients enrolled from January 21st to February 8th of 2008 who lived in and about Marshfield, Wisconsin.

Dr Dan Jernigan, Deputy Director, CDC Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Illnesses (NCIRD), briefed reporters in a web conference yesterday.

He stated that most of the flu viruses circulating this year have been “less than optimally matched to the viruses inside the vaccine”. He said the main strains circulating this year had been type A H3N2, type A H1N1, and type B. He said that type A H3N2 constituted the majority of the strains circulating this year, and within those, 70 per cent had been a series of strains referred to as A-Brisbane10/ 2007.

Jernigan said that although the Brisbane strain had “drifted”, it was still “somewhat related” to A-Wisconsin strain, which is in this year’s vaccine. Of the type B, over 90 per cent are of the B Florida strain, which belongs to the Yamagada lineage, that is quite various to the Victoria lineage that is in this year’s flu vaccine.

The figure of 44 per cent means that the individuals inside the study who received this year’s flu shot were 44 per cent much less likely to have laboratory diagnosed influenza than those inside the study who did not receive the flu shot. This figure is high enough to justify continuing to promote the public well being message that people should be vaccinated, stated Jernigan.

However, he pointed out that due to the fact of the much less than optimal level of protection offered by the vaccine this year, health professionals along with the public must consider taking what he known as the “three pronged approach” to protect against the flu this year.

The “three pronged approach” consists of 1st, get vaccinated, second take each and every day precautions such as covering your cough and washing your hands to prevent spreading of germs, and third, take anti-viral drugs, as suggested by your doctor.

Jernigan warned that if the B strains become dominant within the rest of this season, health care professionals should be prepared for an increased risk of vaccine failure and consider using anti-virals earlier to treat and avoid illness in folks at higher risk of flu complications.

The Wisconsin study mentioned within the MMWR report was based on laboratory information, that is only part of the picture when assessing the effectiveness of the vaccine. Jernigan stated the CDC was beginning to get early figures that showed “substantial cross protection against the predominant virus within the United States this season”, and this showed that “continuing to promote vaccination is beneficial even when some of the laboratory information may well indicate a much less than optimum match”.

A record number of Americans had been vaccinated against the flu this year. About 113 million doses of flu vaccine had been delivered by drug firms in the US this year, more than ever before, and about 10 million more doses than last season, Dr Jeanne Santoli, Deputy Director, CDC Immunization Services Division, NCIRD told the news conference.

At the peak of the season this year, which was around the middle of February, flu deaths peaked to reach 9.1 per cent of all deaths in the US. This is similar to 4 years ago, when during the 2003-2004 season, flu deaths peaked at 10.4 per cent of all US deaths.

The flu epidemic is nonetheless ongoing inside the US, with six states, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, still experiencing widespread infection.

The strains included in a seasonal flu vaccine are decided each year, when globe authorities get together to anticipate the strains of flu that are most likely to circulate the globe within the coming flu season.

But, due to the fact of the lead times to produce the hundreds of millions of vaccine doses needed worldwide, it means the authorities must make the decision about the most likely strains months before we know which strains will really be circulating by the time the flu comes around. And during that time the risk is the fact that things can go very differently. Flu viruses mutate and the balance among the strains changes.

So there are “good” years, when the vaccine strains match the circulating strains (these are when the match is about 70 per cent efficient) and there are bad years, when the match can even be zero for some subtypes.

Depending on how you appear in the vaccine’s effectiveness, for instance taking just the overall vaccine effectiveness figure, it appears that this year’s effectiveness is the lowest since the 1997-1998 season, when overall effectiveness was about 50 per cent. This emerged during a question and answer session between Jernigan and reporters.

“Interim Within-Season Estimate of the Effectiveness of Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine – Marshfield, Wisconsin, 2007-08 Influenza Season.”
Centers for Illness Control and Prevention.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 17 April 2008.

Click here for CDC.

Source: CDC MMWR report, CDC web conference transcript (17 April).

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News These days

The Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 killed in between 30 and 50 million people. Inside the infected patients, the ultimate cause of death was acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This fatal condition is a massive reaction of the body during which the lung becomes severely damaged. ARDS can be induced by various bacterial and viral infections, but also by chemical agents. These could be toxic gases that are inhaled or gastric acid when aspirated. Once ARDS has developed, survival rates drop dramatically. Among patients infected with H5N1 bird flu, about 50 percent die of ARDS.

An international team of scientists has been addressing the underlying illness mechanisms for the past five years. The team involved researchers from leading institutions in Vienna, Stockholm, Cologne, Beijing, Hongkong, and Toronto as well as the US-army at Fort Detrick. The international effort was coordinated by Josef Penninger and Yumiko Imai of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

A first breakthrough came in 2005 when IMBA-scientists identified ACE2 as the essential receptor for SARS virus infections and showed that ACE2 can protect from acute lung failure in illness models (Imai et al. Nature 2005; Kuba et al. Nature Medicine 2005). Based on these information, ACE2 is now under therapeutic development.

In a paper published by Cell this week, the authors describe an essential key injury pathway that is operational in multiple lung injuries and directly links oxidative stress to innate immunity. They also report for the first time a common molecular disease pathway explaining how diverse non-infectious and infectious agents such as anthrax, lung plague, SARS, and H5N1 avian influenza may cause severe and usually lethal lung failure with similar pathologies.

To identify these pathways, the researchers studied many tissue samples from deceased humans and animals. Victims of bird flu and SARS had been examined in Hongkong, and the US-army provided samples from animals infected with Anthrax and lung plague. Widespread to all ARDS samples was the massive amount of oxidation products discovered within the cells. Based on these findings, the scientists showed that oxidative stress will be the frequent trigger that ultimately leads to lung failure.

To elucidate the entire pathway, Yumiko Imai of IMBA developed several mouse models. She was now able to show that a molecule named TLR4 (Toll-like receptor 4) is responsible for initiating the critical signalling pathway. TLR4 is displayed at the surface of certain lung cells named macrophages, essential players of the body’s immune system. Once activated, TLR4 initiates an entire chain reaction which ends with the fatal failure of the lungs. Surprisingly, mice challenged with inactivated H5N1 avian influenza virus also dveloped the full reaction. On the other hand, mutant mice in which the function of TLR4 was genetically impaired were protected from lung failure in repsonse towards the inactivated virus.

Based on these findings, the researchers can now outline a typical molecular illness pathway: Microbial or chemical lung pathogens trigger the oxidative stress machinery. Oxidation products are intrepreted as danger-signals by the receptor TLR4. Subsequently, the body’s innate immune system is activated. This defense machinery in turn leads to a chain of reactions with severe and usually fatal lung damage as a consequence.

For Yumiko Imai, a Postdoc in Josef Penninger’s team and pediatrician by training, these outcomes are extremely satisfying. Her motivation to study ARDS is based on personal expertise in more than 10 years at a pediatric intensive care unit. a??I have seen so many children die from acute lung failure and felt utterly helpless”, Imai says. a??Since we identified a typical injury pathway, our hopes are high that we might be able to create a brand new and innovative strategy for tackling severe lung infections.”

###

The paper a??Identification of oxidative stress and Toll like receptor 4 signalling as a key pathway of acute lung injury” by Imai et al. is going to be published on April 18 in Cell, Vol. 133(2).

IMBA

The IMBA – Institute for Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, combines basic and applied investigation in the field of biomedicine. Interdisciplinary investigation groups function on function-related genetic troubles, particularly in relation to the manifestation of certain illnesses. The aim is to use the gained knowledge with an innovative approach to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases.

IMP – IMBA Analysis Center

The Analysis Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), established in 1988 by Boehringer Ingelheim, and also the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), which went into operation in 2003, have agreed on a close research collaboration. Under the name “IMP-IMBA Study Center”, the two institutes share most of the administrative and scientific infrastructure. Together, IMBA and IMP employ nearly 400 men and women from 30 different nations. Each institutes are members of the “Campus Vienna Biocenter”.

Source: Dr. Heidemarie Hurtl
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology

2.9 (41 votes)2.97 (29 votes)

The season of colds and flu is nearly here, and there are some simple ways to help avoid getting sick this winter.

AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, stated essentially the most successful way to aid protect against catching a nasty cold or the flu is good personal hygiene.

“Upper respiratory tract infections and influenza are transferred by small droplets and these are readily transferred as air borne when someone coughs or sneezes. If you can, try to avoid becoming in the line of fire,” Dr Capolingua stated.

“Other good tips for avoiding the flu are to keep fit and healthy, don’t smoke, get plenty of sleep and exercise, and eat a balanced diet.

“Staying healthy and not getting run down will help.”

Flu vaccines are readily available and free for everyone over the age of 65 years and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over 50 or between 15 and 49 years old who are medically at risk.

For every 1 else, your doctor will advise you to have a flu vaccine if you are at risk.

Pneumococcal vaccine is also offered to protect against probably the most common cause of bacterial respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. Ask your doctor.

“If you have already caught a cold or flu, covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough helps to decrease transfer,” Dr Capolingua stated.

“Dispose of utilized tissues or handkerchiefs, and washing your hands is critical. Try to avoid sharing personal items, clean any surfaces that you contaminate when you come into contact, and avoid close contact with other people.

“If you have the flu, get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, take paracetamol if appropriate, and stay home.

“Antibiotics will not assist with a viral infection, but if you are not getting better in a couple of days, please see your doctor,” she said.

“Special care must often be taken of children, the elderly, and those more susceptible due to chronic or debilitating illness or conditions.”

Dr Capolingua warned that cough and cold medicines should never be given to young children aged under two years without the advice of a doctor.

American Medical Association

three (32 votes)two.97 (33 votes)

Widespread vaccination likely will likely be the cornerstone of public-health measures for controlling an H5N1 bird-flu pandemic, say Andrea Gambotto, M.D., assistant professor of surgery in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and his colleagues, in this week’s edition of The Lancet. Nevertheless, any vaccines must be broadly protective and rapidly producible to be effective against H5N1, that is devastating in humans, the authors write in a journal Seminar. In this comprehensive “state of the science” report on bird flu vaccine analysis, the scientists note that the primary route of transmission for the H5N1 virus appears to be direct handling of or close contact with live poultry. Infection also is feasible through contact with the contaminated environment and by means of the gastrointestinal tract.

“A couple of feasible human-to-human transmissions of H5N1 influenza virus have been reported, which all involved lengthy, close and unprotected contact with infected patients,” the authors note. “Reports of clustering of human H5N1 virus infections within families, usually without crossing blood lines, may possibly suggest the presence of genetic elements which predispose to H5N1 virus or severe illness.”

In most circumstances, symptoms create within 4 days of exposure, and usually contain fever, cough, shortness of breath and X-ray evidence of pneumonia. Numerous patients also complain of diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Mortality exceeds 60 percent, and patients usually die of progressive respiratory failure. Diagnosis can be difficult since isolation of H5N1 is time-consuming and requires high-level biocontainment laboratory facilities. The preferred strategy for rapid diagnosis is reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays, several of which have been developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for diagnostic use in human beings, Dr. Gambotto and his colleagues note.

RT-PCR allows researchers to generate billions of copies of a tiny amount of a specified RNA sequence from biological samples within several hours for further sequencing and testing. Because RT-PCR can be produced to recognize specific known sequences, it can be utilized to identify RNA virus strains such as H5N1 avian influenza.

In addition, the authors highlight their concerns over genetic variants of the H5N1 virus, which they say give constant challenges towards the reliability of RT-PCR assay design. Because of these challenges, genetic sequence data of one of the most recent human and bird H5N1 isolates are essential.

“Improving accessibility of databases within the World Wellness Organization’s (WHO) influenza networks that are restricted, and in which such data is mostly stored, would aid with and improve the establishment and maintenance of reliable diagnostics in a lot of laboratories in countries affected by H5N1 influenza virus,” the authors write.

While WHO advises the use of the antiviral drug oseltamivir for treatment of human H5N1 infection, clinical encounter suggests the drug is not particularly effective for decreasing mortality overall (30 percent survival with oseltamivir versus 26 percent in untreated patients). Importantly, however, survival rates inside the oseltamivir patients were 53 percent when treatment was started within five days of infection, compared with 26 percent when treatment was started on day six or later. The authors also consider problems associated with inadequate drug concentrations and resistance.

For the Seminar, the authors discuss a number of protein- and gene-based H5N1 vaccines that have been tested in clinical trials so far, enumerating the advantages and disadvantages of every.

The frequent feature of protein-based vaccines appears to be the presentation of pre-formed proteins to the immune system that preferentially stimulate humoral immune responses and neutralizing antibodies. These contain inactivated influenza virus vaccines. An H5N1 type of this vaccine already has FDA approval, but the disadvantage is the fact that an adjuvant molecule is needed using the vaccine and there’s limited production capability. This inactivated influenza virus for H5N1 is already in clinics in preparation for a doable pandemic.

Gene-based vaccines let host cells to produce the viral proteins themselves, again inducing an immune response. Live but weakened influenza vaccine falls into this category, which already is licensed for human influenza virus vaccination.

“If H5N1 influenza viruses acquire the capacity for effective human-to-human transmission although retaining their characteristically high pathogenicity, the ensuing pandemic would be devastating,” Dr. Gambotto and his colleagues conclude. “Therapeutic approaches for control of the illness can be restricted, leaving widespread vaccination as the probable cornerstone of public-health measures for pandemic control. Continued research into influenza pathogenesis and development of broadly-protective vaccines that can be rapidly produced is needed in anticipation of an H5N1 influenza virus pandemic.”

In addition to Dr. Gambotto, other authors are Simon M. Barratt-Boyes, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Well being; Menno D. de Jong, M.D., Ph.D., Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Gabriele Neumann, Ph.D., and Yoshiro Kawaoka, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison.

http://www.medschool.pitt.edu

three.7 (10 votes)3.25 (8 votes)

3M Wellness Care, a leader in infection prevention for more than 30 years, has announces plans to introduce the 3M? Rapid Detection Flu A+B Test, a sensitive assay designed to deliver reliable, qualitative and objective electronic outcomes in 15 minutes.

Expected to be accessible prior to the 2008-2009 flu season, the Rapid Detection Flu Test quickly delivers objective results by way of an easy-to-use self-timed reader. Requiring much less than 3 minutes of prep time, positive or negative results are detected, differentiated as influenza A or B and displayed by the automated 3M? Rapid Detection Reader. The fluorescent reader helps eliminate user interpretation errors, which can lead to each false negative or false positive results.

Additionally, the Rapid Detection Reader reads and stores test outcomes which gives lab technicians more flexibility in time and test management by eliminating the critical test read time period required by all current flu tests. Its capability to export data further reduces prospective for reporting error by eliminating the want for manual transfer of patient outcomes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, rapid testing of influenza makes it possible for for more appropriate infection management, such as reducing inappropriate use of antibiotics, reducing the spread of infection inside the well being care environment and faster tracking and reporting.(1, 2)

“We are pleased to be launching the 3M? Rapid Detection Flu A+B Test as our 1st U.S. product on the 3M Medical Diagnostics platform,” said Jeff Hillins, Medical Diagnostics global enterprise manager, 3M Medical Division. “This test’s ability to offer objective outcomes and its ability to read and store information helps address real pain points for hospital laboratories. As a highly contagious disease, quick and accurate diagnosis is essential to limit influenza spread, and may ultimately minimize expenses and improve patient outcomes in the wellness care setting.”

The Rapid Detection Flu Test will be the initial 3M diagnostic test to be launched following a 2006 agreement between 3M and Response Biomedical Corporation to develop and commercialize diagnostic products targeting hospital and community acquired infectious illnesses utilizing Response Biomedical’s technologies.

“The 3M? Rapid Detection Flu A+B Test is actually a key addition towards the growing number of trusted infection prevention solutions we offer the wellness care community,” commented Chuck Kummeth, vice president and general manager, 3M Medical Division. “This may be the first of several rapid diagnostic solutions we plan to bring to the marketplace that help hospitals improve patient outcomes, decrease fees and minimize the impact of resistant microbes.”

Health and Economic Consequences of Flu

Influenza is a extremely contagious and potentially life-threatening viral respiratory infection affecting millions of Americans annually. Each year, five to 20 percent of the U.S. population becomes ill with “the flu”.(3) Flu can lead to severe complications and results in more than 200,000 hospitalizations and roughly 36,000 deaths every year.(4) Influenza acquired inside the hospital results in approximately $3,800 in extra charges per patient, according to one study.(5)

###

About 3M Wellness Care

Since inventing Ioban? antimicrobial incise surgical drapes more than 30 years ago, 3M has been a worldwide leader in developing well being care products and services that address infection control. 3M Wellness Care, 1 of 3M’s six major company segments, is dedicated to improving the practice, delivery and outcome of patient care and is really a leading provider of solutions for medical, oral care, drug delivery and well being details markets.

About Response Biomedical

Response Biomedical develops, manufactures and markets rapid on-site diagnostic tests for use with its RAMP? Platform for clinical and environmental applications. RAMP? represents a brand new paradigm in diagnostics that provides high sensitivity and reliable info in minutes. It’s ideally suited to both point-of-care testing and laboratory use. The RAMP? system consists of a fluorescent reader and single-use disposable test cartridges, and has the possible to be adapted to more than 250 medical and non-medical tests currently performed in laboratories. RAMP? clinical tests are commercially available for the early detection of heart attack and congestive heart failure.

3M and Ioban are trademarks of 3M.
RAMP can be a trademark of Response Biomedical Corporation.

(1) Centers for Disease Control. Role of Laboratory Diagnosis of Influenza. Accessible at: http://www. cdc.gov/flu/professionals/diagnosis/labrole.htm

(2) Centers for Disease Control. Interim Guidance for Influenza Diagnostic Testing During the 2006-07 Influenza Season. Accessible at: http://cdc.gov/flu/professionals/diagnosis/0607testingguide.htm

(three) CDC. Influenza: The Disease. Accessible at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease.htm

(4) CDC. Influenza: The Disease. Obtainable at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease.htm

(5) Falsey A, Murata Y, Wash E. Impact of rapid diagnosis on management of adults hospitalized with influenza. Arch Intern Med. 2007; 167:354-360.

Source: Rebekah Brooks
WeissComm Partners

three (1 votes)

The IFPMA Influenza Vaccine Supply international task force (IFPMA IVS) will grant EUR 200,000 to the Pathogen Evolution Group1 at the University of Cambridge within the UK, to support computerized mapping of the H1N1 and B influenza viruses. The group, recently described as “mapmaker for the world of influenza”2, has already mapped the H3N2 influenza virus. The extra mapping will aid the World Well being Organization’s Global Influenza Surveillance Network (WHO GISN) to visualize how influenza viruses are evolving, and so increase its selection makers’ confidence when selecting the influenza strains to be utilised in vaccines for a coming influenza season. All mapping information resulting from this work will probably be for WHO GISN use and will not be shared with IFPMA or its IVS members.

Human influenza viruses are continually evolving in a process known as antigenic drift3, that is why an influenza vaccine administered this winter may possibly supply little or no protection next winter. Influenza virus evolution is very complicated and mapping it requires very sophisticated mathematical computerized programming, as properly as adequate surveillance information, that is collected, isolated and analyzed by the WHO GISN, comprising National Influenza Centers and International Collaborating Centers.

Dr. Harvey Bale, Director Common of the IFPMA, stated: “The more closely the antigens in a seasonal vaccine match those in the strains really circulating during the winter influenza season, the greater the protection provided by that vaccine, but predicting what might be circulating 6 months in advance is a challenging task. The mapping work in the University of Cambridge funded by the IFPMA IVS will assist WHO GISN in that task and so aid to improve vaccine efficiency.”

“Although seasonal influenza causes 3 to five million circumstances of severe illness and among 250,000 and 500,000 deaths worldwide each year, essentially the most vulnerable groups – notably the very young, the elderly and certain patient groups – are not adequately vaccinated in most countries. Wider vaccination could also decrease the widespread misery and significant economic cost associated with large numbers of otherwise wholesome adults and children spending a week at home in bed,” he continued.

The IFPMA IVS grant towards the University of Cambridge for antigenic mapping is the latest example of industry support for study function to improve the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccines. Other WHO GISN function streams supported by the IFPMA IVS incorporate development of high-growth reassortants, which assist to increase vaccine yields and accelerate production. The IFPMA IVS contributes about USD 1.4 million per year for this work, that is done by New York Medical College, USA along with the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, UK. IFPMA IVS members MedImmune, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics (former Chiron Vaccines) and sanofi pasteur also fund isolation of specific influenza viruses in eggs by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA, to facilitate large scale egg-based production of the required influenza vaccines.

1. See http://www.antigenic-cartography.org/cam
2. “Mapmaker for the World of Influenza”, Science 230:5874, 310-311, 2008
3. For more details on antigenic draft and shift, see here.

About the IFPMA IVS

The IFPMA Influenza Vaccine Supply International Task Force (IVS ITF), established in February 2002, brings together research-based influenza vaccine manufacturers from worldwide, which are conducting the R&D essential to develop safe, successful, high-quality vaccines against avian and pandemic influenza threats. The IVS ITF works to address the advocacy, communication, policymaking, regulatory, scientific and technical issues related to interpandemic and pandemic influenza vaccines.

http://www.ifpma.org

5 (6 votes)

By pinpointing the window of opportunity when the human immune response to a particular pathogen peaks, scientists inside the US have developed a significantly faster way to isolate the highly specific antibodies needed to make flu vaccines. The discovery may also lead to new and faster ways to produce vaccines and therapies to fight numerous other illnesses.

The study is the function of researchers at Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, Georgia, and Oklahoma Medical Investigation Foundation (OMRF), in Oklahoma City, and is published in the 30th April advanced on-line issue of Nature.

Co-author, Dr Rafi Ahmed, director of the Emory Vaccine Center and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, stated:

“This approach could find broad application towards virtually any infectious illness.”

Corresponding author Dr Patrick Wilson, immunology researcher at the OMRF, stated:

“With just several tablespoons of blood, we can now rapidly generate human antibodies that can be utilised for immunization, diagnosis and treatment of newly emerging strains of influenza.”

“In the face of a disease outbreak, the ability to quickly produce infection-fighting human monoclonal antibodies would be invaluable,” he added.

The human body’s most efficient way of fighting illness is to be equipped with antibodies that can sense and neutralize invading pathogens. This can be the principle of vaccination: expose the body to a secure dose of the pathogen, the immune system detects it, and begins generating antibodies against it. Then when the “real” pathogen that is circulating (for instance seasonal flu) comes along, the immune system is ready to defend against the attack.

For the flu virus, experts get together every year to attempt and predict exactly which strains are going to be circulating within the coming season, along with the vaccine manufacturers can then prepare the flu shots. You can’t use last year’s vaccination formula because the flu virus, which is really a range of strains, mutates as it passes worldwide, from community to community, and last year’s antibodies no longer recognize the new strains.

There are currently two ways to “manufacture” the antibodies that are put inside the vaccines. The initial way is like finding a needle in a haystack. Scientists use blood from men and women who have been exposed to the specific strain the vaccine is destined for, after which “sift” through all of the similar antibodies until they find the one that is specific to that strain. This takes a long time, and in the meantime the virus is out there, evolving into new strains. The scientists also use models to attempt and predict the direction the mutations will take, but this can add to the timescale.

The second way to make antibodies for flu vaccines is to infect mice using the flu, take their antibody producing cells, make them suitable for humans, and use this “hybrid” to make antibodies. This way is faster, but less safe, simply because the human body could reject the mouse part of the hybrid in unforeseen ways.

The key discovery in this study, is that there is a window of opportunity following exposure to a pathogen exactly where the antibodies against that pathogen peak inside the bloodstream, and this makes it much easier to find them.

In this study the researchers had been able to pinpoint the exact influenza specific IgG+ antibody-secreting cell (ASC) circulating in blood plasma following a flu booster shot. They found that about 7 days after the vaccination, there was a small window of opportunity where there is a high level of this specific plasma cell inside the body, accounting for about 6 per cent of B cells inside the blood.

B cells are white blood cells that make antibodies. The immune system has distinct B cells ready to make antibodies against a range of pathogens that the body has been exposed to within the past.

The researchers had been able to distinguish these ASCs from influenza-specific IgG+ memory B cells that peaked 14 to 21 days after vaccination and averaged 1 per cent of all B cells. Memory B cells are what remain as a long term record of the exposure. The B cells that make the antibodies (the ASCs) recede, leaving just the memory cells as a record that the immune system has expertise of fighting that pathogen inside the past.

By pinpointing this window of opportunity when the ASCs levels peak, the researchers discovered that as much as 80 per cent of the purified ASCs harvested at this point had been influenza specific (they had a specific effect on B-cell receptors).

They had been able to sift by means of this a lot smaller pool of ASCs and produce more than 50 human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that bound to the 3 target flu strains with high affinity. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are extremely specific antibodies (they bind to 1 strain of pathogen only) derived from a single parent immune cell (hence “clone”). The timescale from vaccination to mAbs production was one month, a lot faster than conventional strategies.

The researchers concluded that:

“The panel of influenza-virus-specific human mAbs allowed us to address the issue of original antigenic sin (OAS): the phenomenon where the induced antibody shows higher affinity to a previously encountered influenza virus strain compared using the virus strain present within the vaccine.”

They discovered that OAS is not typical among normal healthy adults receiving the flu shot, as was previously believed. If you look at the right time, within the window of opportunity, you can see there is certainly a extremely specific response towards the current strain, which only later recedes and gets lost among all the earlier “memories” of prior strains.

While this study was part of a analysis effort to fight influenza, it has possible applications to any pathogen for which a vaccine exists, such as anthrax and smallpox.

“Vaccines can activate the immune system, but they require time to take impact, and many offer much less than 100 percent protection and carry risks of side effects,” stated Dr Stephen Prescott, president of the OMRF.

“With further analysis and testing, this new strategy may possibly permit a nurse going into the center of an outbreak to receive a shot to keep her secure from infection. Soldiers inside the field could keep a shot of anti-anthrax in their packs in case of a biological attack,” he added.

The approach also has possible to support individuals fight newly acquired and chronic diseases, by taking their antibodies, boosting them and giving them back again, or even to supply passive immunity against future infection.

“Rapid cloning of high-affinity human monoclonal antibodies against influenza virus.”
Jens Wrammert, Kenneth Smith, Joe Miller, William A. Langley, Kenneth Kokko, Christian Larsen, Nai-Ying Zheng, Israel Mays, Lori Garman, Christina Helms, Judith James, Gillian M. Air, J. Donald Capra, Rafi Ahmed & Patrick C. Wilson.
Nature advance on-line publication 30 April 2008.
DOI:10.1038/nature06890

Click here for abstract.

Sources: Oklahoma Medical Study Foundation, Emory University, journal abstract.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Right now

Influenza is currently a grave concern for governments and well being organisations around the world. The worry may be the potential for extremely virulent bird flu strains, such as H5N1, to create the ability to infect humans easily. New drugs and vaccines to halt the spread of the virus are badly needed. Now one of the tactics used by influenza virus to take over the machinery of infected cells has been laid bare by structural biologists in the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) as well as the joint Unit of Virus Host-Cell Interaction of EMBL, the University Joseph Fourier and National Centre for Scientific Study (CNRS), in Grenoble, France. Inside the current issue of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology they publish a high-resolution image of a key protein domain whose function is to let the virus to multiply by hijacking the host cell protein production machinery. The findings open the way for the design of new drugs to combat future influenza pandemics.

Upon infection the influenza virus starts multiplying in the cells of its host. 1 protein that is crucial in this process is the viral polymerase – the enzyme that copies its genetic material and helps to produce more viruses. One component of the polymerase, named PB2, plays a key role in stealing an important tag from host cell RNA molecules to direct the protein production machinery towards the synthesis of viral proteins. Researchers of the groups of Stephen Cusack and Darren Hart at EMBL Grenoble have identified the PB2 domain responsible for binding the tag, produced crystals of it and examined them using the powerful X-ray beams of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF).

“Viruses are masters of cunning when it comes to hijacking the normal functioning of the host cell. The influenza virus steals a password from host messenger RNAs, molecules that carry the instructions for protein production, and uses it to gain access towards the cell’s protein-making machinery for its own purposes,” says Cusack.

The password is actually a short extra piece of RNA, a modified RNA base referred to as a ‘cap’, which must be present in the beginning of all messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to direct the cell’s protein-synthesis machinery towards the starting point. The viral polymerase binds to host cell mRNA via its cap, cuts the cap off and adds it to the beginning of its own mRNA – a process known as ‘cap snatching’. The capped viral mRNA can then be recognised by the host cell machinery allowing viral proteins to be produced, in the expense of host cell proteins.

The atomic resolution image the EMBL scientists generated of a PB2 domain bound to a cap reveals for the initial time the individual amino acids responsible for recognising this special structure. The central interaction is really a sandwich with two PB2 amino acids stacking either side of the cap. Whilst this recognition mechanism is similar to other cap-binding proteins, its structural details are distinct. Collaborators in the Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia in Madrid showed that disruption of the PB2 cap-binding site prevents the influenza virus from replicating.

“These findings suggest that the PB2 cap-binding site is actually a very promising target for anti-influenza drugs,” Hart says. “Our new structural insights will help us design mimics of the cap that would inhibit viral replication and hence minimize the spread of virus and the severity of the infection.”

###

Source: Anna-Lynn Wegener
European Molecular Biology Laboratory