A research team from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine has reported on the development of the H5 mRNA-LNP vaccine, an mRNA vaccine for preventing H5N1 avian influenza, which has shown great efficacy in ferrets. The sample group that received the vaccine exhibited minimal symptoms, high immunity, and no fatalities after infection.
Drew Weissman, a notable researcher in this team, mentioned that previously, the team had limited options for vaccine development. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 has highlighted the effectiveness of mRNA technology. Meanwhile, Scott Hensley, a fellow researcher, noted that the team was able to create a vaccine within hours of successfully decoding the virus’s genetic information. This rapid speed offers the possibility of utilizing the vaccine in future outbreaks, as opposed to the past when outbreaks often subsided on their own.
The H5N1 strain selected by the team primarily affects birds and cows, with minimal transmission to humans. In this experiment, the ferrets that received the vaccine recovered rapidly from the disease and experienced no fatalities, while those who did not receive the vaccine all perished.
Source: Penn Medicine
Comparing the sample groups that received the vaccine and those that did not in terms of A) survival rate, B) body weight, C) levels of infection from tissue samples, and D) various symptoms to determine the overall severity score of the disease.
TLDR: A new mRNA vaccine for H5N1 avian influenza has shown promising results in ferrets, with vaccinated individuals exhibiting high immunity and minimal symptoms after infection. The rapid development speed of the vaccine offers hope for combating future outbreaks efficiently.
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