13 July 2009
A team of researchers at the Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) has received a grant of from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to help predict individuals' response to infection or vaccination against H1N1 (Swine Flu) in an effort to optimise the Australian Government's response.
Led by the Director of the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases Professor Paul Hertzog, the team has received $313,063 in funding from the NHMRC.
Professor Hertzog said his team's research would focus on the nature of the early, innate immune response, where the body initially unleashes proteins to fight the virus -- a critical factor in determining the severity of the disease.
"By collecting blood samples of suspected H1N1 virus patients at Monash Medical Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital, we can gather data that provides an insight in to the behaviour of these early innate cells and how they are reacting to strains of the H1N1 virus. Without this knowledge, we are unable to pre-empt the effectiveness of a potential vaccine," Professor Hertzog said.
The Monash team includes Southern Health clinician Dr Kumar Visvanathan and MIMR's Dr Ashley Mansell together with colleagues from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the WHO (World Health Organisation) Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza.
The team will screen up to 200 patients over the coming months and provide initial data analysis in December.
Professor Hertzog said the team would compare the data with the documented response to Spanish Influenza, which killed close to 100 million people in 1918.
"Our research will examine how much of our entire genetic makeup is devoted to our innate immune response to influenza viruses. This will provide answers on why some people will get more severe flu symptoms than others, which vaccination approaches are effective and how we can control these reactions with new drugs," Professor Hertzog said.
The results of the study will be shared internationally, as many countries look to Australia's experience of the flu season to learn much more about the virus as they prepare for Winter.
A total of $7 million is being provided to 41 research projects on H1N1 virus across Australia.
For more information contact Samantha Blair, Media and Communication +61 3 9903 4841 or 0439 013 951.
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