Thursday, Oct 21, 2004
Thursday, Oct 21, 2004 |
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By James Meikle
LONDON, OCT. 20. A new way of delivering vaccines could help revolutionise immunisation programmes in the developing world by eliminating costly and often incomplete refrigeration, the British scientists responsible for the technology said on Tuesday. The system involves storing the active ingredients in solid microscopic sugar ``beads''. If it works the technique should help end the annual loss of about half the vaccination packages to bacterial contamination or damage by extremes of temperature. The beads, suspended in inert biochemical oils, are rehydrated and returned to life by body fluids when injected. The first tests on humans will be conducted in India over a three-year period using a five-in-one jab against tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilius influenza type B (Hib), which can cause meningitis. The technique should work against most other infections too, according to its developers Cambridge Biostability, although the polio vaccine has proved impossible to crack. The company's scientists and advisers believed the system could save millions by eliminating the ``cold chain'', which costs up to $300m a year. - © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
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