As evidence grows that the bird flu virus is mutating, Health and Human Services officials want work to begin on a new vaccine based on more recent strains. At an immunology conference in Atlanta, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said that in order to be prepared government scientists need to anticipate potential genetic changes that could transform the virus. The HHS authorized the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Congrol to work on the new version found in Indonesia last year, which appears to have different characteristics than the earlier Vietnamese strain. The government has spent about $250 million on its first bird flu vaccine, which was purchased from Sanofi-Aventis and Chiron.
- see this article from the Houston Chronicle