Flu Treatment Ban Threatens Pandemic Response

A treatment for flu that could be crucial in combating a pandemic is blocked in the UK due to rules designed to prevent the spread of "mad cow" disease. Scientists believe antibodies taken from recovered flu patients could be used to treat others, providing an additional defense against a pandemic after vaccines and antiviral drugs like Tamiflu. However, the UK's ban on British blood products in medical therapies, introduced seven years ago, prohibits this treatment. Experts argue that the minuscule risk of spreading new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) from antibody treatments is far outweighed by their potential benefit in a pandemic.

Key Takeaways:

• Scientists believe antibodies taken from recovered flu patients could be used to treat others with flu, providing a third line of defense against a pandemic.
• The UK's ban on British blood products in medical therapies, introduced in 1998, prohibits the use of this treatment.
• Immunoglobulins, which are antibodies produced by the immune system to fight germs, are already used widely against diseases such as hepatitis A, chicken pox, and measles.
• The use of immunoglobulins in flu treatment has not yet been tested in humans, but research in mice suggests that it could be an effective way to alleviate symptoms.
• Immunoglobulins would be a vital alternative to Tamiflu if a pandemic strain developed resistance to the antiviral drug, as experts predict.
• Waiting for patients to recover from infection and isolating the relevant antibodies could take only a few weeks.
• Immunoglobulins would not replace the need for vaccines and antiviral drugs like Tamiflu but would be valuable as an alternative treatment.
• The approach has not yet been considered a frontline pandemic defense by the Department of Health.

Statistics:

• 7 years: the length of time the UK's ban on British blood products in medical therapies has been in place.
• 1998: the year the UK introduced regulations prohibiting the use of immunoglobulins made from British blood in medical therapies.
• 3: the number of diseases against which immunoglobulins are already used widely, including hepatitis A, chicken pox, and measles.
• 1-2%: the estimated percentage of patients who may contract a mild form of vCJD from antibody treatments.
• "Trivial risk": the description given by experts to the risk of contracting vCJD from antibody treatments.

Sources:

• "The Times" - Copyright (C) 2005
• Sir Peter Lachmann, Emeritus Professor of Immunology at the University of Cambridge
• Robin Thorpe, head of immunology at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC)
• Stephen Inglis, director of the NIBSC
• A spokeswoman for the Department of Health