Scottish scientists have developed a novel treatment that could protect against any strain of the flu. [s]Medical Xpress[/s] reports that the preventative treatment could be used as a ‘frontline defence’ before an effective flu vaccine is developed. Leading influenza experts say the new development is ‘very exciting and potentially of great importance’. Researchers at the [b]Biomedical Sciences Research Complex at St Andrews[/b] ‘developed an alternative host-targeted approach to prevent influenza by synthesising novel proteins, or biologics, that are designed to mask specific sugar molecules that line the respiratory tract.’ Influenza is a constant worldwide health threat with annual epidemics claiming up to 500,000, according to the [b]World Health Organisation[/b].
[link url=http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-04-treatment-strain-flu.html]Full Medical Xpress report[/link]
[link url=http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/09/1404205111]Proceedings of US National Academy of Sciences abstract[/link]