Researchers in Hong Kong have announced the launch of an innovative intranasal vaccine against the H5N1 avian influenza virus, considered a major danger to global health.
A single dose of the new vaccine can generate a complete immune response. Photo: Archive
The vaccine, developed on a platform initially used during the Covid-19 pandemic, promises to revolutionize the prevention of future pandemic, providing a single dose protection and inducing directly to the virus entry gate, in the nasal cavity, according to News.ro.
The State Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), together with the Innohk Center for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapies (CVVT), announced on Thursday, April 3, the development of this Viral Gripal Vector, administered in the form of Nazal spray. The study was published in the prestigious Nature Communications magazine.
Platform successfully tested in pandemic
The platform on which the new vaccine is based was used previously for the development of the first intra-intnasal vaccine against Covid-19, approved in 2022 following clinical trials of phases 1–3. Now, the technology is extended to combat the H5N1 virus, which has recently caused outbreaks in US cow farms, with dozens of reported human infections.
Researchers point out that recent H5N1 virus mutations have increased its ability to infect human respiratory cells, which raises concerns about a possible pandemic adaptation. In this context, the US has already allocated $ 500 million for the development of vaccines based on MRNA technology.
The advantages of the nasal vaccine
Unlike intramuscularly administered vaccines, which provide systemic protection but do not prevent transmission effectively, intranasal vaccine stimulates local immunity into the upper respiratory tract, the main place of entry of the virus.
Animal studies have shown that a single dose can generate a complete immune response. Specialists claim that such a solution could play an important role in stopping the spread of the virus in the early stages of a outbreak.
