New vaccine may beat bird flu before it starts

Researchers studying bird flu **viruses** said on Thursday they may have come up with a way to vaccinate people before a feared **influenza pandemic**. Experts have long said there is no way to vaccinate people against a new strain of influenza until that strain evolves. That could mean months or even years of disease and death before a vaccination campaign began. But a team at the **National Institute of Allergy** and **Infectious Diseases in Maryland** and the **Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta** said they may have found a short-cut. The vaccine might protect people against the **mutation** that would change the **H5N1 avian flu virus** from a germ affecting mostly birds to one that infects people easily, the NIAID's Dr. Gary Nabel and colleagues report in Friday's issue of the journal Science... Whole article on "Reuters":[ http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN0923748420070810]

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