EU funding gives boost to bird flu research
The European Commission has unveiled details of 17 new research projects into avian and pandemic influenza. Between them the projects will receive over €28 million in funding. Reflecting the global nature of the issue, many of the projects include partners from outside Europe, including from countries which have been affected by recent outbreaks. The projects were selected following a special call for proposals under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). 'It is important that the EU is able to target its research programmes to meet new needs that arise,' commented Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research. 'We have shown that we are able to do this. The involvement of so many international partners shows that Europe is leading the global fight against avian and pandemic flu.' The selected projects focus on both human and animal health, and address research gaps identified by bodies such as the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN. In the field of animal health, there are projects which aim to develop new vaccines that will be cheap and easy to deliver. Other projects will increase understanding of how the virus works and is transmitted. The ability of the virus to survive various food processing methods will also be investigated. There is also a strong emphasis on international cooperation, with some projects focusing on developing research networks and technology transfer and training to ensure that wherever an outbreak occurs, local researchers will be well placed to diagnose the disease and put in place measures to contain it. On the human health side, there is a strong focus on the development of vaccines and simple vaccine delivery methods. Another project will study the all-important question of how the virus crosses the species boundary, while other projects will look into disease transmission and how the body responds to infection. Figures from the World Health Organisation show that since 2003, there have been 256 reported cases of bird flu in humans around the world. Of these, 151 people died of the disease. Although there have been no cases of bird flu in humans in the EU, 14 Member States have had cases of the disease in birds.