Officials Prepare For Another Flu Pandemic — Just In Case

There’s been a buzz of activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta since scientists got their first samples of a new bird flu virus from China four weeks ago.

Already they’ve prepared “seed strains” of the virus, called H7N9, and distributed them to vaccine manufacturers so the companies can grow them up and make them into experimental flu vaccine.

They’ve also come up with a new diagnostic test for H7N9 that the Food and Drug Administration has approved on an emergency basis.

Meanwhile, CDC researchers have almost concluded experiments that involve infecting ferrets with H7N9 — in particular, a virus derived from a 35-year-old Chinese housewife who died last Monday from the flu.

Because ferrets’ respiratory tracts are similar to those in humans, researchers want to see if the animals can infect each other through droplets in their exhalations, a possible clue to the all-important issue of whether this virus has the potential to spread readily among humans. 

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