HELP FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA RESEARCH

The Threat Of Avian Flu
Dr. Luc Montagnier 06.07.06
Paris -

The epidemic of avian flu in poultry does not appear to be fully controlled in Southeast Asia and in some Eastern European countries such as Romania.

Further, the risk of human-to-human transmission of the unmutated avian virus already exists and should not be underestimated. Consider the evidence: In Indonesia, an entire family was decimated by the virus--and without any record of contact with contaminated birds. Because time is working against us, we must prepare all of our defenses now.

Scientists, international institutions, governments and pharmaceutical companies have been working hard to identify effective solutions. But the current focus is on only two areas: discovering a new preventive vaccine and relying on inhibitory drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza.

Given a worst-case scenario--the mutation of this virus, rendering it highly transmissible from human to human--is this enough?

Our past history with epidemics, from the Spanish flu of 1918 (which killed millions) to AIDS, requires us to consider some complementary approaches.

HIV has a remarkable ability to mutate, which allows it to escape a single course of treatment and makes the hunt for effective vaccines more difficult. In fact, initial efforts to use a single drug to control the virus were complete failures. We learned that the only way to control the virus's multiplication and improve the condition of infected patients was to combine three drugs acting on the virus at different levels.

If we apply this lesson to avian flu, it means we need to combine several inhibitors acting differently to make the emergence of resistant mutants much more difficult, protect those not yet ill and help cure patients who have been exposed to the virus.

Recent studies of the reconstructed Spanish flu virus have unraveled the molecular basis for its high virulence. Unlike other strains, this virus was able to induce a fulminant pneumonia, killing healthy young adults within three days. Its aggressiveness seems to be due in part to the neutralization, by a viral protein, of a very important natural defense mechanism against viruses: interferons.

Interferons are made by our cells and represent the first line of defense against viruses. The body mobilizes them within hours of the first exposure to a virus. The H5N1 avian virus, like the Spanish flu virus, appears to possess the potential to neutralize interferons by a specific viral protein.

This is the race we have to win: to sufficiently mobilize the interferon system early enough so it will knock out the virus multiplication before the virus launches its dangerous missile against interferons.

One prime candidate for this task already exists. It's a substance called Alferon LDO (low-dose oral), the Hemispherx Biopharma (amex: HEB - news - people ) version of the body's systemic alpha interferons, prepared from blood cells obtained at transfusion centers. An injected form of Alferon, already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is currently being used in the treatment of a certain viral infection and has the potential to act on native avian virus as well as on its humanized form.

It's time to pick up the mantle and protect those most at risk before they are stricken with the avian flu virus: health care personnel, farmers and poultry workers.

Think of it in these terms: What do we have to lose? Countless lives across the globe. What do we have to gain? A population safe from a virulent strain of avian flu. Any immediate measures will also help buy time to develop an efficient vaccine that can be made generally accessible.

We have the skills, the experience and the resources to meet this new challenge. In the best traditions of science, history and humanity, let's resolve to work together, draw on what we know and find a solution.

And let's do it now.

Dr. Luc Montagnier is the co-discoverer of the AIDS virus and HIV. He is President of the Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention. He serves as an unpaid adviser on the Scientific Advisory Board of Hemispherx Biopharma, which discovered Alferon.