relenza applied to fight other diseases

This is an old post but worth a read for those who are interested

Thai authorities reported that the H5N1 virus, which had killed seven Thais, was detected in samples from a clouded leopard, which had since died, and a white tiger kept at a private zoo near Bangkok.

Although two domestic cats had been infected at a home near Bangkok after consuming infected chickens, pet lovers were asked not to panic because the possibility of cats infecting owners was very low.

The World Health Organisation warned H5N1 could kill millions of people if it combined with a human influenza virus to create a new, highly contagious strain transmissible to humans.

Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin said Relenza was developed partly from models of the bird flu virus, whose H5N1 strain emerged in Asia and Europe in early 2003.

The latest tests by CSIRO showed the drug was just as effective against bird flu as against all other strains of flu that infected humans.

Relenza is inhaled. A second drug, Tamiflu, comes in tablet form.

"We tested Relenza on the bird virus and found it took the same amount of drug as the human influenza virus, so they showed a similar sensitivity," Dr McKimm-Breschkin said.

"People who believe they have been infected with bird flu can take it, particularly poultry workers who are doing all the killing because they are going to be exposed to high levels.

"They should be taking Relenza as a preventive measure. Even if they breathe in the virus . . . it can stop it from spreading in the body."

Dr McKimm-Breschkin said the techniques used to design Relenza also were being applied to fight other diseases such as cancer, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Relenza targets a small pocket on the surface of the flu virus that does not change between strains in humans or animals.