Bird Flu Research at Rochester

History

Currently Treanor’s Rochester team is involved in five studies to learn more about bird flu and test a vaccine against it:

  • Rochester is one of four sites of a study of 240 people testing the vaccine in people age 65 and older. Sixty-seven people in Rochester are taking part.
  • About 104 people in Rochester who took part in a major study reported in NEJM in March 2006 are taking part in an ongoing study and received a third dose of the vaccine in the fall of 2005.
  • About 40 people from a 1998 study of another type of vaccine against bird flu are taking part in another study of a “booster shot.” They received a third shot of the vaccine in November 2005, so scientists can measure how well a booster shot delivered years later affects a patient’s immunity against the virus.
  • Rochester is one of three sites of a study of 600 people testing alum as part of the vaccine in people ages 18 to 49. Approximately 200 people in the Rochester area will take part.
  • Rochester is one of six sites of a study of 600 people testing alum as part of the vaccine in people age 65 and older. Approximately 100 people in the Rochester area will take part.
  • The studies above are being conducted through the University’s Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit, or VTEU, one of a network of seven centers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to test vaccines against infectious diseases. The unit is currently testing vaccines against many diseases, including the common cold, flu, bird flu, anthrax, malaria, and herpes.
  • John Treanor, M.D., is a national authority on bird flu vaccine research. He is leading all three studies above and is director of Rochester’s VTEU. He also helps to set the nation’s broad vaccination policy as a member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
  • More people in Rochester have been immunized against bird flu than in any other community in the world, thanks to the University’s role testing bird-flu vaccines.
  • On a typical day, anywhere from 10 to 20 volunteers who are participating in a bird-flu vaccine study are evaluated by nurses at Strong, to check volunteers’ vital signs, closely monitor their health, and take blood samples to check for antibodies that show that the vaccine would be protective against bird flu.
  • This is not the first time the nation has turned to the University to carry out a study crucial to the nation’s health. Last year Treanor led a national study that led to the approval of an additional flu vaccine, creating another vaccine supply and helping avert a shortage like the one last year. And shortly after the 9/11 tragedy, he led a study that showed that the smallpox vaccine could be diluted and still be effective, dramatically increasing the number of people who would be protected in the face of a smallpox threat.

NIH Funding

NIH Funding Continues to Grow at URMC

Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials at Stronghealth

Find Clinical Trials Being Conducted at URMC/Strong Health.