Australian scientists have announced that they expect to produce a trial vaccine within months. This vaccine will protect chickens from the deadly bird flu (avian flu).

A small portion of the flu genetic material would be delivered to poultry. This would stimulate the bird’s immune response.

The scientists work at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The vaccine will be created using a delivery system which cuts the time normally taken to develop a new vaccine. The system is called Adenoviral Vector Delivery System (AVDS) and was devised by the animal health group Imugene.

Warwick Lamb, Managing Director of Imugene, said that the CSIRO research team had been working with the AVDS and its use with poultry for over ten years. He said that they have the relevant experience with chicken viruses.

He said vaccines based on the AVDS only used a portion of the viral structure of the flu virus, making them safer than a live attenuated vaccine approach.

An official from CSIRO said that this vaccine will provide a good base from which to develop other vaccines to treat future outbreaks (if this vaccine arrives too late to help the present outbreak).