Experts available for comment on avian flu and emerging disease issues

Sept. 28, 2007 -- An outbreak this week of avian influenza virus H7N3 on a Regina, Sask. chicken farm has spurred ripples of concern in the poultry industry. While quarantine and systematic disinfection will be carried out to eliminate the virus, migrating birds are a wild card in efforts to contain it.

Andrew Potter and Yan Zhou can address issues around avian flu and other emerging diseases that threaten the health of animals and humans.

Andrew Potter, Director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), is an internationally recognized authority on vaccine development.

“We hope that this outbreak will end with this farm,” says Potter. “But it’s situations like this that underline the need for the infrastructure and expertise to respond to outbreaks of emerging diseases that pose significant threats to animals, humans or both.

He notes that the dynamics of flu viruses in migrating bird populations can have drastic consequences for trade in North America and internationally. “We also hope in future to have responses in place that will avert the need for large-scale culls.”

Contact:
Andrew Potter, PhD
Director and CEO, VIDO/InterVac
(306) 966-7484
andrew.potter@usask.ca

VIDO scientist Yan Zhou is already working to develop a vaccine against the H7N3 flu strain.

“We aim to produce a prototype vaccine against avian influenza H7N3,” she says. “More importantly, we are working to develop a technology that would be available for manipulating and producing vaccines rapidly to any new influenza strains that may emerge in the future.”

Zhou is carrying out research with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency lab in Winnipeg and will be able to continue this research locally when the International Vaccine Centre (InterVac) is built in 2010.

Contact:
Yan Zhou, PhD
Project leader, Influenza Research and Vaccine Development
VIDO
(306) 966-7716
yan.zhou@usask.ca

VIDO is leading the construction of InterVac, a state-of-the-art research and development lab to be operating in three years. InterVac will be a major player in Canada’s pandemic preparedness strategy, enabling scientists to rapidly mobilize to respond to outbreaks while also working to prevent them in advance.

As the largest vaccine research centre in Canada, InterVac’s work will mean that vaccines and therapeutics against threats such as avian flu, tuberculosis and hepatitis C can reach the market faster. InterVac will enhance a unique-in-North-America cluster of world-class life sciences research centres on the U of S campus. For more information, visit: http://www.vido.org/intervac/index.php

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For more information, please contact:

Tess Laidlaw
VIDO Communications Officer
(306) 966-1506

Kathryn Warden
U of S Research Communications
(306) 966-2506