National Institute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases (NIAID)
http://www.niaid.nih.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, Feb. 8,
2000 An experimental nasal spray flu vaccine protected young
children against an influenza strain not covered by the vaccine,
according to results from the second year of a study supported
by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID) and the vaccine manufacturer. Details appear in the
February issue of the Journal of Pediatrics. In an unexpected
twist, during the 1997-98 flu season when the study took place,
the predominant circulating flu virus was A/Sydney. Since this
strain had not emerged as an upcoming threat when the vaccine
was made, the vaccine was not designed to protect against it.
Yet the nasal spray vaccine proved 86 percent effective against
A/Sydney. In addition, none of the children became infected with
the three strains of influenza the vaccine was specifically
designed to prevent. "This study gave us an unanticipated
opportunity to test how well