Experts identify compound that may fight bird flu

Scientists in Hong Kong and the United States have identified a synthetic compound which appears to be able to stop the replication of influenza viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu virus. The search for such new "inhibitors" has grown more urgent in recent years as drugs have become largely ineffective against certain flu strains, like the H1N1 seasonal flu virus.  Researchers in Hong Kong and the Unites States screened some 230,000 compounds that were catalogued with the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and found 20 that could potentially restrict the proliferation of the H5N1.  In their experiment, the researchers infected separate batches of cultured human cells with seasonal flu virus and H5N1 and found that compound 1 prevented the replication of both types of viruses effectively.  But it would take as much as eight years for such a drug to be available on the market.  Viruses and bacteria are sturdy organisms that fight hard to survive and adapt swiftly to drugs that are used to kill them, quickly becoming resistant to them.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE53E25820090415

Susan Vanderzyl