NIAID's H5N1 DNA vaccine enters human trial

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, says that it has begun the first human trial of a DNA vaccine designed to prevent H5N1 avain influenza infection. The NIAID said that the vaccine was administered to the first volunteer at its clinical research center in Bethesda, Maryland, on December 21, 2006.

Unlike conventional influenza vaccines, which rely on the administration of an attenuated version of the wild type virus to provoke an immune response, DNA vaccines comprise selected segments of the influenza virus genome, thereby removing the cultivation step required for the production of traditional vaccines. DNA vaccines, once administered, instruct human cells to make viral proteins, which then elicit an immune response that protects against subsequent infection.

The study will seek to enroll 45 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 60, 15 of whom will be given a placebo. Those treated will receive three injections over a two=month period, and will be monitored for a full year.