Engineers could aid bird flu vaccine effort
Avian flu experts appealed on Monday to engineers — a group largely left out of flu preparedness efforts — to come up with potential breakthroughs for speeding vaccine production in case of a deadly pandemic.
The hope is that engineers could use their expertise in areas such as assembly lines and production techniques to help vaccine developers jump hurdles.
The matter has gained urgency as the H5N1 flu strain moves quickly among birds in Asia, Europe and Africa. Experts worry it could change to a form that spreads easily among people and kills millions.
An effective flu vaccine would be key to slowing the movement of the virus, but producing sufficient quantities would take time.
“We have so far a situation that is not satisfactory … it’s very difficult for many people to predict how much (vaccine) is going to be available two, three or even five months after a pandemic has emerged,” said Klaus Stohr, head of the World Health Organization’s influenza team.