An international team of scientists have discovered antibodies that could protect against bird flu in humans.
The finding could further lead to treatments that harmonize flu vaccines in the event of a human epidemic of the virus that has killed more than 180 people around the globe since 2003.
Scientists working in Switzerland, Vietnam and the United States have isolated antibodies that they hope could offer protection against numerous different strains of the virus concurrently.
We in a way exploit the immune response of an individual who has been infected and has survived the infection and of course has made antibodies that neutralize these viruses. And using this technique, we can isolate the cells that make these antibodies so that this antibody can now be reproduced in vitro and eventually massively produced to treat other individuals,
says Professor Antonio Lanzavecchia of the Institute of Research in Biomedicine in Switzerland.
The antibodies can be quite helpful to protect key workers, such as nurses and doctors, in countries where H5N1 bird flu epidemic strikes.
Our immune system uses antibodies to neutralize bacteria and viruses. The scientists have isolated antibodies that bird flu survivors in Vietnam produced to fight off the disease. The researchers feel it could also be used as an emergency antidote in people already infected with bird flu.
The antibodies have already proven effective in the lab and in mice. It is hoped human trials could begin shortly.
Via:BBC
