# 2095
Helen Branswell of the Canadian Press does again what she does best, providing us with a clear and concise explanation of a complicated subject; in this case the relative effectiveness of influenza vaccines.
Right now, each manufacturer is free to choose their own method and rationale for determining the strength, and efficacy, of their product. Without an agreed upon standard, this makes it very difficult to compare vaccines.
This is just a snippet. As always with stories by Ms. Branswell, it is well worth following the link to read the entire article.
A hat tip to Shiloh on Flutrackers for posting this story.
Bird flu vaccine strength could be under-or overestimated due to test variability
Published Sunday June 22nd, 2008 TORONTO - A study comparing the tests being used by vaccine manufacturers to gauge the effectiveness of their H5N1 avian flu vaccines shows there is a lot of variation in the sensitivity of the tests, the British scientist leading the effort says.
Differences in the sensitivity of the tests mean companies could be underestimating or overestimating the power of their vaccines as they try to work out what is the smallest protective dose, experts admit.
As things stand now, there is no way to usefully compare the results of one company's clinical trials for their vaccine with a competitor's findings.
"If Company A's assay (test) happens to be 10 times more sensitive than Company B's, Company A and Company B could be evaluating the exact same thing but reach different answers about whether they worked or not," says Dr. John Treanor, a vaccine expert who knows of the study but is not involved in the work.
The effort, which included trying to develop an international standard against which H5N1 antibody tests could be measured, is being led by Dr. John Wood, a prominent influenza virologist with Britain's National Institute for Biological Standards and Control.
"The purpose of this is not to assess one lab against another. It really is to develop a consensus on the values that are obtained," Wood explains.
"It allows WHO and governments and anyone, really, to make the comparisons."
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