Gene therapies could be used to treat flu in case of a serious pandemic, researchers reported last night.
Scientists have reported successful laboratory studies of a therapy, tested on mice and ferrets.
The trials involved the H1N1 virus, responsible for the 1918 pandemic, and the H5N1 swine flu virus, responsible for the 2009 pandemic.
The latest news comes after it was revealed that the new bird flu in China has proved able to mutate rapidly to resist existing flu treatments.
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, Pennsylvania University, USA, used an adeno-associated virus – AAV – to release a flu antibody in the nose passages of the animals.
The findings were reported in Science Translational Medicine.
Researcher Dr James Wilson said: "The experiments described in our paper provide critical proof-of-concept in animals about a technology platform that can be deployed in the setting of virtually any pandemic or biological attack for which a neutralizing antibody exists or can be easily isolated.
"Further development of this approach for pandemic flu has taken on more urgency in light of the spreading infection in China of the lethal bird strain of H7N9 virus in humans."
Science Translational Medicine 29 May 2013
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