More treatment needed

The H5N1 virus that hit Korea only affects poultry such as ducks and chickens. In theory, it does not infect humans. As of the end of last month, however, 258 people worldwide had been infected with the virus and 153 had died. Scientists focus on the fact that the virus’ RNA mutates more easily than DNA, hinting that it changed into a form that could affect humans as well. If it mutates further and spreads via human respiratory organs just like influenza, it could evolve into a disaster far worse than the Spanish Flu that claimed the lives of tens of millions of people in the early 20th century, some scientist speculate.

Flu treatments such as Roche's Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza are available. After bird flu first broke out here in 2003, the government started purchasing Tamiflu and has currently accumulated enough medication for 980,000 people. It is purchasing more for 20,000 people, but that still falls far short of the WHO recommendation of enough for 20 percent of the population, or 10 million in Korea’s case. Fortunately, local drug manufacturer Yuhan was selected by Roche as one of its global licensees in April and is now able to produce Tamiflu here in an emergency.

Developing vaccines

Pundits differ over the efficacy of treatments. Tamiflu is proven to be effective only for those over 18 years old and when taken within one to two days after contracting the disease. In addition, viruses which have developed resistance to Tamiflu were reported recently. In short, Tamiflu is not a panacea for all types of flu. This is why scientists focus on developing vaccines that help people become immune to bird flu in advance. Such vaccines are similar to influenza vaccines: weakened bird flu viruses are injected into eggs and then grow inside them, and antibodies created during the process are harvested and injected again into humans. Those vaccinated come down with mild bird flu and come to develop immunity.

The problem is that many pharmaceutical companies are conducting clinical tests on humans, but none was approved for actually going into the market anywhere. The U.S. government, however, has bought US$200 million worth of vaccines to treat 2.7 million people from four pharmaceutical companies. It has already stored enough bird flu vaccines for 3 million and is planning to have vaccines for 20 million.

France is to purchase bird flu vaccines for 28 million from Sanofi-Aventis, and Canada will buy vaccines for 15 million produced in GSK's vaccine manufacturing facility in the country. The U.K. is also buying bird flu vaccine. Just like influenza, different kinds of bird flu spread every year. In the case of influenza, the WHO announces what viruses are likely to spread for the year every February and pharma firms produce vaccines according to the announcement. But no such system is in place for bird flu yet. The WHO recommends that each nation store even vaccines still in development, because if any human-to-human infections should occur, such vaccines, though their efficacy is not proven completely, can prevent the worst-case scenario. Urgent need for prevention

The Korea Green Cross Corporation is to complete its bird flu clinical tests by 2008 and start production at a vaccine manufacturing facility in South Jeolla Province in 2009. The KGCC imported weakened bird flu viruses for vaccine development from the UK at the end of last year and established its own manufacturing procedures to grow antibodies in chicken eggs. Seong Baik-lin, a professor at Yonsei University, is jointly working with a foreign company to develop a bird flu vaccine. Suh Sang-hee, a professor at Chungnam National University, is also working to develop a vaccine, but the company that has been financially supporting him has dropped out recently and he is reportedly facing difficulties in continuing his work. Park Mahn-hoon with Mogam Biotechnology Research Institute's division of immunotherapy said, "We need to put in place an emergency vaccine program which stores vaccines, even if they are still going though animal tests, just like the U.S. and other advanced nations. Fortunately, there are discussions going on here to have such program in place.”

(englishnews@chosun.com )