H5N8 'Bird Flu' Pandemic, Now Disruptive in South Africa, Might Have Been Controlled by Specific Replikins Vaccines and Blockers, Available Since 2013

BOSTON, Nov. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Replikins, Ltd.'s Dr. Samuel Bogoch spoke this week on the H5N8 current pandemic  'bird flu' H5N8 at the 3^rd annual Chernack Conference at Boston University School of Medicine on Crisis & Emergency Management. He noted that at least two million chickens have been lost to date in the current H5N8 outbreak in South Africa, creating economic havoc.

The Figure illustrates the advance warning of the current H5N8 outbreaks. Each 'plateau' of Replikin Counts in the Figure shows that the molecular evolution of H5N8 since 1983 had abundant mutations in 2013, 2014, and 2015 in the specific gene Replikin structures producing new strains preceding the outbreak in South Africa.

These conserved and new Replikins could have been used over the past four years to synthesize and test potentially preventive vaccines and blockers as done successfully for H5N1 (Avian Diseases: December 2009, Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 613-617).

H5N8 has not yet created a pandemic in humans, as have three of its close lethal flu relatives: H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2. H1N1 produced two pandemics, in 1918 and 2009, causing millions of deaths in humans. Another close relative, H5N1, has passed to humans and killed 82% of individuals it infected in Indonesia, but like H5N8, has not as yet produced a pandemic in humans. 

The current influenza pandemic H5N8 has produced loss of lives in chickens and economic chaos in South Africa.

But when the next influenza or other virus pandemic occurs, and this one in humans, will we again have ignored the consistent specific evidence that it was coming obtained with Replikins Surveillance over the past decade of which virus was building for the attack?

With over 3 million Replikins automated analyses of 18 virus genes, one to four years advance notice of the outbreaks consistently provided time for both public health preparations and the synthesis and testing of blockers and vaccines.  The Gates Foundation and the World Bank have recently urged more efforts and new efforts in advance of the outbreak.

For the now-weekly Replikins Surveillance^TM Service for individual viruses, in animals and humans, contact:

Sam Bogoch, [email protected],  Tel 646-320-5910

SOURCE Replikins, Ltd.