Australian company to start testing for H1N1 vaccine
Published:Wednesday | July 22, 2009 | 1:50 PM
The first human tests of a vaccine for the Influenza A H1N1 virus is expected to be conducted today by an Australian company.
CSL limited in Melbourne, Australia said it plans to administer the vaccine to 240 persons who volunteered to be tested.
A company representative said the tests would be conducted on healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 64 years.
The representative said participants will receive two injections of the vaccine in parts over a three-week period and will undergo blood tests to determine if they are generating an immune response to the H1N1virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that it will take several months before a vaccine is available for the virus.
According to the WHO, 700 persons infected with the virus have died since it was first reported in April.