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Flu vaccine goes five times further
04 November 04
A fifth of the usual dose of flu vaccine can elicit just as much protection against influenza as the usual jab as long as it is put into skin and not into muscle, two separate studies have found.
That could make flu vaccine go five times farther in an emergency. The discovery would have been even more helpful, had it been made earlier. It might then have been possible to implement a new vaccine delivery scheme for the US this winter, as recent manufacturing problems have cut the supply of flu vaccine to about half the level of demand.
But it may be even more important for the next flu pandemic. On 11 November the world’s 16 biggest vaccine manufacturers will meet at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, alongside government funding agencies to discuss how best to boost vaccine production in the event of a pandemic.
Intradermal injection - into the skin - is already used for the anti-TB vaccine BCG. As the primary barrier between the body and the outside world, the skin is swarming with white blood cells called dendritic cells. These present foreign proteins to the rest of the immune system, which provokes an immune response which is then remembered by the body. This should make the skin an ideal spot for immunisation.
经过两项独立的实验表明，将1/5剂量的流感疫苗注射到皮肤中可以引发机体产生和普通剂量注射到肌肉中相同的抗流感作用。
这可以使疫苗在紧急时期使用5次。如果这项发现能早一些，他会更有用处。可以在今冬给美国人提出一个新的疫苗接种计划，因为目前疫苗厂家已经将疫苗的供应降低到需求水平的一半。
这对下一次流感流行是很重要的，11月16日，16家最大的疫苗制造企业在瑞士日内瓦的WHO总部与政府基金协会讨论怎样更好的提高疫苗制品去应付万一爆发的流感。
皮内注射已经应用在预防结合的卡介苗上，作为机体与外界的屏障，皮肤中有许多被称为树突细胞的白细胞在走动。他们可以将这些外源蛋白质呈递给休眠状态的免疫系统，产生免疫应答，然后机体产生免疫记忆。这样就可以使皮肤成为一个理想的免疫接种部位。
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2010-11-12 05:11
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