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Meanwhile, scientists have passed the first major hurdle in the complex process of developing an experimental bird flu vaccine for humans in case it is needed, an official of the World Health Organization said. The scientists are also working to develop a safer and easier test to detect the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza now spreading across Asia, a mutation of the strain that caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003. The technique involves substituting harmless influenza genes for the ones that make the strain lethal to birds. In a conference call on Tuesday, two of the laboratories said that they had completed the first step in the reverse genetics technique and expected to begin testing the resulting virus in chickens and ferrets by next week, Dr. [Klaus Stohr] said in a telephone interview

Avian influenza is still spreading in Asia despite the slaughter of millions of chickens and other poultry, but scientists say they have passed the first major hurdle in the complex process of developing an experimental bird flu vaccine for humans. An official of the World Health Organization said scientists also are working to develop a safer and easier test to detect the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza now spreading across Asia, a mutation of the strain that caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003

Recent reports about avian influenza in Asia have come almost daily, creating an impression that the viral disease is spreading among countries as fast as birds fly. Indeed, avian influenza has moved rapidly. The simultaneous appearance of avian influenza in eight countries, particularly in one region, is ''unprecedented,'' the World Health Organization says. The A(H5N1) strain of current concern is a mutation of the same bird flu virus that caused outbreaks among chickens in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003, when the virus infected 20 people, 7 fatally. Now the mutated strain has caused 14 human cases, of which 11 were fatal, and led to the slaughter of 25 million birds. The human cases were believed to have resulted from direct contact with infected chickens, except for possibly two cases in Vietnam. Avian influenza was first described in Italy a century ago, but health officials have lacked the monitoring systems to track small outbreaks in birds or humans over time. Another unknown is what allowed A(H5N1) to mutate to become virulent among ducks and other migratory aquatic birds when the older strain was less harmful. The virus has been isolated recently from various species of ducks, geese, swans and flamingos, Dr. [Klaus Stohr] said

The cluster in Vietnam brings to 10 the number of human infections in Vietnam from the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza. Eight have died, one has recovered and one is in a hospital. Health officials have linked all human cases in Vietnam, except possibly for some of those in the family group, to contact with infected poultry. Vietnam was the first country where avian influenza was detected this winter. Tests showed that the A(H5N1) strain had mutated from the one that had caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003. The disease, which is spread mainly in feces but also in saliva and respiratory secretions, is widespread in Vietnam

The cluster brings to 10 the number of human infections in Vietnam from the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza. Eight have died. A ninth has recovered. The tenth is in a hospital. [The deputy director of the Tropical Disease Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Tinh Hien, said Monday that an 18-year-old patient there, the 11th case in Vietnam, had died of bird flu, Agence France-Presse reported.] Vietnamese health officials have linked all human cases there, except possibly for some in the family group, to contact with infected poultry. Vietnam was the first country where bird flu was detected this winter. Tests showed that the A(H5N1) strain had mutated from the one that caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003. The disease, which is spread mainly in feces but also in saliva and respiratory secretions, is widespread in Vietnam. Scientists are also analyzing the molecular structure of the virus isolated from the cluster to determine if it differs from that found among other cases in Vietnam. If small changes were found, Dr. [Klaus Stohr] said, they would be of interest to virologists but would be unlikely to have public health significance. But if the virus has picked up genes from a human flu virus, it will be of concern to health officials everywhere

Because the virus apparently 'vanished' after causing the cluster of infections, [Klaus Stoehr] said his agency does not consider the possible person-to-person spread a major public health threat. Similar transmission limited to a short chain of people and with a definite end occurred in earlier avian influenza outbreaks in Hong Kong, he said. The cluster in Vietnam brings to 10 the number of human infections in Vietnam from the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza, or bird flu. Eight have died, one has recovered and one is in a hospital. Health officials have linked all human cases in Vietnam, except possibly for some of those in the family group, to contact with infected poultry

Strain typing of microbial pathogens has two major aims: (i). to index genetic microvariation for use in outbreak investigations and (ii). to index genetic macrovariation for use in phylogenetic and population-based analyses. Until now, there has been no clear indication that one genetic marker can efficiently be used for both purposes. Previously, we had shown that DNA sequence analysis of the protein A gene variable repeat region (spa typing) provides a rapid and accurate method to discriminate Staphylococcus aureus outbreak isolates from those deemed epidemiologically unrelated. Here, using the hypothesis that the genetic macrovariation within a low-level recombinogenic species would accurately be characterized by a single-locus marker, we tested whether spa typing could congruently index the extensive genetic variation detected by a whole-genome DNA microarray in a collection of 36 isolates, which was recovered from 10 countries on four continents over a period of four decades, that is representative of the breadth of diversity within S. aureus. Using spa and coa typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and microarray and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) data in molecular epidemiologic and evolutionary analyses, we determined that S. aureus likely has a primarily clonal population structure and that spa typing can singly index genetic variation with 88% direct concordance with the microarray and can correctly assign isolates to phylogenetic lineages. spa typing performed better than MLEE, PFGE, and coa typing in discriminatory power and in the degree of agreement with the microarray at various phylogenetic depths. This study showed that genetic analysis of the repeat region of protein A comprehensively characterizes both micro- and macrovariation in the primarily clonal population structure of S. aureus

Treatment with the somatostatin receptor (sst) subtype 2 predominant analogs octreotide and lanreotide induces clinical and biochemical cure in approximately 65% of acromegalic patients. GH-secreting pituitary adenomas, which are not controlled, also express sst(5). We compared the acute effects of octreotide and SOM230, a new somatostatin analog with high affinity for sst(1,2,3,5) on hormone release in acromegalic patients. In a single-dose, proof-of-concept study, 100 microg octreotide and 100 and 250 microg SOM230 were given s.c. to 12 patients with active acromegaly. Doses of 100 and 250 microg SOM230 dose-dependently suppressed GH levels from 2-8 h after administration (-38 +/- 7.7 vs. -61 +/- 6.7%, respectively; P < 0.01). A comparable suppression of GH levels by octreotide and 250 microg SOM230 was observed in eight patients (-65 +/- 7 vs. -72 +/- 7%, respectively). In three patients, the acute GH-lowering effect of 250 microg SOM230 was significantly superior to that of octreotide (-70 +/- 2 vs. -17 +/- 15%, respectively; P < 0.01). In one patient, the GH-lowering effect of octreotide was better than that of SOM230. Tolerability for SOM230 was good. Glucose levels were initially slightly elevated after octreotide and SOM230, compared with control day, whereas insulin levels were only significantly suppressed by octreotide. We conclude that SOM230 is an effective GH-lowering drug in acromegalic patients with the potential to increase the number of patients controlled during long-term medical treatment.