Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/07/30/national/national_30108652.php
Living-virus vaccine' to fight influenza
By The Nation
Published on July 30, 2009
Production has begun of a vaccine - developed from a local virus prototype - to combat type-A (H1N1) influenza, the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec) said yesterday.
The strain being researched and produced is a live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), generally termed as a "living-virus vaccine" in media reports. It is administered through nasal spraying, known as "flu mist", said Anant Jongkaewwatthana, a senior Biotec official.
Flu mist can yield immediate results to its recipients, but cannot be used with pregnant women, young children and people with HIV/Aids, Anant explained.
Moreover, flu mist does not protect recipients from common or seasonal flu, unlike the flu shots made of inactivated or killed virus.
Flu-mist production is a local operation relying on certified lab results achieved in the US.
A problem with the project is that this LAIV-based vaccine requires |a special type of purified egg produced for growing the living virus, which has to be imported at Bt300 apiece.
Unlike the production of a common-flu vaccine which requires one ordinary egg for one dose of vaccine, the production of flu-mist vaccine requires two to four eggs for per dose. "To produce a million doses of flu mist would require millions of purified eggs," he said.
Anant said Biotec was also conducting research on vaccines to fight against both influenza types A and B.
The 2009 influenza is associated with type A.
Anant was among Thai academics who produced a vaccine against avian influenza during its outbreak two years ago, in cooperation with Mahidol University and Russian medical authorities.
Living-virus vaccine' to fight influenza
By The Nation
Published on July 30, 2009
Production has begun of a vaccine - developed from a local virus prototype - to combat type-A (H1N1) influenza, the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec) said yesterday.
The strain being researched and produced is a live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), generally termed as a "living-virus vaccine" in media reports. It is administered through nasal spraying, known as "flu mist", said Anant Jongkaewwatthana, a senior Biotec official.
Flu mist can yield immediate results to its recipients, but cannot be used with pregnant women, young children and people with HIV/Aids, Anant explained.
Moreover, flu mist does not protect recipients from common or seasonal flu, unlike the flu shots made of inactivated or killed virus.
Flu-mist production is a local operation relying on certified lab results achieved in the US.
A problem with the project is that this LAIV-based vaccine requires |a special type of purified egg produced for growing the living virus, which has to be imported at Bt300 apiece.
Unlike the production of a common-flu vaccine which requires one ordinary egg for one dose of vaccine, the production of flu-mist vaccine requires two to four eggs for per dose. "To produce a million doses of flu mist would require millions of purified eggs," he said.
Anant said Biotec was also conducting research on vaccines to fight against both influenza types A and B.
The 2009 influenza is associated with type A.
Anant was among Thai academics who produced a vaccine against avian influenza during its outbreak two years ago, in cooperation with Mahidol University and Russian medical authorities.