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Saturday, May 10, 2003A reliable test and possibly even a vaccine for the deadly SevereAcute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) may be available within the next three to four years, predicts Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. Replies Fumento: By the time you've gone from discovery to rodents, then through all three phases, then await FDA approval you're talking five to seven years -- not three. Does Fauci not know this? Has there ever been a disease for which a vaccine was developed in a few years? When you consider that the SARS virus is the same sort of virus that causes colds and that we don't have a vaccine or a treatment against colds, it pretty much dampens all enthusiasm for a drug treatment or a vaccine, at least in the near future. As this Wall Stree Journal article points out (subscription required): Mutability is a family trait among RNA viruses such as the coronavirus that scientists have pinpointed as the cause of SARS. Unlike viruses whose genes are made of DNA, such as the hepatitis B virus, coronaviruses are chemically less stable and therefore more prone to make errors as they replicate, causing mutations. That could have a big impact on world-wide efforts to keep the disease under control. For one, an effective SARS vaccine could prove much harder to produce. HIV is an RNA virus, and its constant mutation is one of the key reasons an AIDS vaccine has remained elusive. Another concern is that the disease may become more virulent as it changes. SARS has already killed about one in five people hospitalized with the disease in Hong Kong, according to a study released this week. posted by Sydney on 5/10/2003 09:09:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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