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Spray vaccine for bird flu and Newcastle Disease to be tested soon
A vaccine for bird flu and Newcastle Disease that can be sprayed to
inoculate mass avian populations is ready for testing next year, according to
Dutch chemical group Akzo Nobel NV.
The vaccine, developed by Akzo's animal health unit Intervet in cooperation
with the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute in Germany, means that birds would not
have to be injected individually as is currently the case.
"The
prototype combines the efficacy of the present vaccines with a mass application
tool and could prove invaluable in helping to quickly protect large numbers of
birds," said Toon Wilderbeek, Akzo's executive in charge of
pharmaceuticals.
Tens of millions of birds have died from or been
culled in response to the H5N1 avian influenza, which has spread out of Asia
into Africa and across Europe.
The disease has infected at least 224
people in 10 countries, and killed 127 of them, according to recent World Health
Organisation statistics.
The first trials for a human vaccine are
scheduled for this year, while clinical trials for the H5N1 vaccine are planned
for next year.
Several companies make influenza vaccines and are also
working on H5N1 vaccines. They include Sanofi Aventis SA, Chiron Corp,
GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Acambis Plc and Dutch biotech company Crucell
NV.
Editor WorldPoultry
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