Nasal spray prevents flu
UPI Science News
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 27 (UPI) _ A new nasal spray vaccine can protect people against influenza outbreaks more than 90 percent of the time.
Researchers said today the new FluMist even protected people against an unexpected flu strain that crossed the U.S. during last year's flu season.
Dr. Robert Belshe, professor of internal medicine at the St. Louis University School of Medicine, reported that just 15 children of the more than 900 given the nasal spray vaccine caught the flu, compared to 51 of 440 children who received a placebo spray.
At the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Diego, the annual infectious disease meeting of the American Society of Microbiology, Belshe said that even though the live attenuated virus used in the FluMist wasn't developed to protect against the A/Sydney flu strain, the vaccine still offered high levels of protection.
He said, ''Live weakened virus vaccines such as FluMist are thought to mimic natural infection better than other types of vaccines.''
For the few children who got the flu despite having been vaccinated with the nasal spray, the length of illness was half that _ about 2.1 days _ compared to children who caught the flu and were not vaccinated. They were ill 4.9 days.
FluMist, is still awaiting approval by Food and Drug Administration, and is manufactured by Aviron, a biopharmaceutical company in Mountain View, Calif.
In other studies, researchers reported on another nasal route of attack in treating the flu. Zanamivir, manufactured by Glaxo Wellcome, London, was found to be successful in reducing the risk of flu by two- thirds.
Dr. Arnold Monto of the University of Michigan said, ''The drug was extremely effective in preventing influenza.''
He said Zanamivir protected patients from getting ill with flu symptoms when given to people at risk during an influenza outbreak. Zanamivir has also been shown previous to be effective in treating flu symptoms. _-
Copyright 1998 by United Press International.
All rights reserved. _- By ED SUSMAN
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