Um To Test Flu Vaccine

Maryland One Of 8 U.s. Universities To Take Part In Effort To Stave Off Dangerous Mutation Of H1n1 Virus

In a race to stave off an unusually dangerous flu season, scientists at the University of Maryland and seven other universities in the U.S. will begin testing a swine flu vaccine in adults and children within the next few weeks - the first step in what could be a mass vaccination campaign.

The trials, which will test the vaccines of two manufacturers, mark the launch of an aggressive government timetable to have inoculations ready for as many as 200 million Americans, including 2 million Marylanders, by mid-October. While there are unanswered questions about the campaign - from the logistics and cost to whether the vaccine will protect everyone from the virus - researchers expect to determine the vaccine's safety and effectiveness within six weeks of starting the trials.

Public health officials and infectious disease experts fear the virus, known as H1N1, could mutate into a nastier strain this fall. With that in mind, vulnerable groups - children, people who work with children, pregnant women, health care workers and adults with chronic diseases - are likely to be first in line for the vaccine. But first, scientists must determine whether it's safe, if it works and if not, what should be their next steps.

"What we are trying to do is to be prepared in case the infections come back with a vengeance," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, which is funding the trials. "The concern is that we will see a lot of infection, serious illness and maybe some deaths as kids go back to school. So we are going to try as best we can to get as much information about whether we are going to vaccinate on Oct. 15 and beyond. Doing these trials is our best effort to get as much information as we can."

Researchers nationwide will enroll about 2,400 volunteers in trials that will test two vaccines in five population groups. They will also study the best time to give the vaccine: before, during or after the typical vaccination schedule for the seasonal flu.

Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine expect to receive a vaccine from manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur as soon as Aug. 10 and begin testing immediately on roughly 1,000 volunteers - adults at University of Maryland Medical Center and later on children at sites in Frederick and Annapolis.