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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alan Smithee who wrote (38098)	7/19/2005 10:59:12 AM
From: Rainy_Day_Woman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

anyone following the deadly avian flu virus H5N1? some good news An antiviral drug currently used against annual influenza strains has in mice experiments suppressed the deadly avian flu virus H5N1, US scientists reported on Monday. This study, the first published one conducted on oseltamivir against the H5N1 influenza strain circulating in Vietnam, found that the drug commercially labeled as Tamiflu can dramatically boost the survival rate of infected mice [yes, testing on animals]. The researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have published the paper online in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Of 80 mice infected with H5N1 virus, 20 received a placebo, 30 were given oseltamivir at one of three dosage levels for five days, and 30 received the drug at one of three dosage levels for eight days. None of the mice receiving a placebo survived, and only five of10 mice given the highest daily dose of oseltamivir for five days survived. Although oseltamivir suppressed the virus in the mice, the virus continued to grow if the drug was stopped after five days, the researchers said. But mice given the drug for eight days fared better. Survivors included one of 10 mice given the lowest daily dose, six of 10 given the middle-range daily dose, and eight of 10 given the highest daily dose. The eight-day dose of oseltamivir allowed moretime for virus levels to fall and less chance for avian flu to rebound after the drug was stopped, explained the researchers. In addition to testing the efficacy of oseltamivir against H5N1virus in mice, the researchers compared the virulence of the new Vietnam virus with a 1997 variant of H5N1 that killed six people in Hong Kong, China. They found that the 2004 H5N1 virus, currently circulating in Vietnam, is much more virulent than its 1997 predecessor. A longercourse of antiviral treatment may be required to conquer the aggressiveness of the new antigenic variant of H5N1 virus, the researchers suggested. "The H5N1 avian flu viruses are in a process of rapid evolution. We were surprised at the tenacity of this new variant,"said lead investigator Elena Govorkova. "Our results provide baseline information that will be needed for further studies on preventing and treating avian flu with antiviral drugs." The researchers said that further study is needed to see if using higher doses of oseltamivir for a longer period of time can prevent theH5N1 virus in the lungs from gaining a foothold and then spreadingto the brain. They are planning additional studies in small animalmodels in which avian flu infection closely resembles the disease in human." - now they need to ramp up and stock pile production of Tamiflu