Medical Express Researchers at Texas Biomedical Research Institute have developed a new, proof-of-concept vaccine to protect people from the bird flu strain currently circulating in the United States. The team, led by Professor Luis Martinez-Sobrido, Ph.D. and Staff Scientist Ahmed M. Elsayed, Ph.D., recently published initial results in npj Vaccines. The live attenuated vaccine contains a weakened (attenuated) version of the avian influenza virus that has sickened poultry and dairy cows throughout the U.S. since March 2024. The vaccine candidate showed high efficacy in cells and animal models. A single dose was enough to protect mice from highly pathogenic H5N1, which would otherwise be lethal.
The team is now working to develop versions of the vaccine that would address other bird flu strains circulating in hot spots around the world. Highly pathogenic avian influenza is naturally carried by migratory birds and waterfowl, but is deadly in domesticated chickens and turkeys.