New H5N1 Vaccines?

Oops! Looks like Nick also found the WNV article in the homeless interesting. Luckily, infectious diseases are EVERYWHERE. So I'll have another go.

An article was just published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases about new and better vaccines that are being sought to combat H5N1. A major public health goal is utilizing techniques such as cell-culture systems, reverse genetics, and adjuvent development to make efficacious vaccines. One strategy discussed is using the currently circulating strain to prepare new vaccines. While this strategy could provide a good solution, the issue of antigenic drift (collections of mutations that change the virus to the point where it is not recognized by the immune system anymore) will definitely arise, especially considering the high mutation rates of influenza A. The current goal of international public health initiatives is to gain a better understanding of host-virus interaction to identify tools to produce effective vaccines against H5N1.