USU researchers combat flu, mad cow disease
The Institute for Antiviral Research at Utah State University is working to combat both influenza and mad cow disease through the use of a $5.45 million contract awarded by the federal government.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) allotted $1.5 million to USU for the study of mad cow disease and the remaining $3.95 million for the study of influenza last September.
Robert Sidwell, director of the Institute for Antiviral Research, and his colleague Donald Smee are using both cell cultures and mice models of influenza to study the effectiveness of potential drug treatments for the disease.
Previous work done by the USU scientists helped lead the development of Tamiflu and Zanamivar, new drugs now approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of influenza, Smee said. The researchers also helped bring to light another drug, code name RWJ-270201, with possibly even greater potency against influenza, he said.
This drug is “awaiting a company that will want to develop and market it,” Smee said.
Because the influenza virus constantly changes, it remains a serious public health threat. But so far, the drugs produced have not had a problem with resistance, Smee said.
“The drugs are inhibiting a portion of the viral system less prone to resistance development,” Smee said.
If new strains of influenza for which humans have no immunity emerge, there is a possibility millions of people could die, Smee said. In 1918, an epidemic of the Spanish flu killed more than 20 million people around the world, he said.
The government wants to safeguard against such disaster, Smee said. They will continue to fund projects like this one as long as they think it’s important, he said.
John Morrey of the Biotechnology Center is working with mad cow disease. They are just now expanding their genetically-engineered mouse colonies to begin experimenting, he said.
Mad cow disease is a neurological disorder belonging to a group of diseases which affect many different animals, as well as human beings, Morrey said. It originated in Great Britain and gets its name from the signs its victims show – loss of balance and motor capabilities, he said.
The disease is always fatal in humans, Morrey said.
“It’s devastating for the person who has it and for the family who has to care for them,” he said.
The human form of mad cow disease is known as Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (CJD) and can be contracted by the intake of contaminated food, Morrey said. This form of CJD is not found in the United States.
A new, variant form of human CJD, nvCJD, can possibly be contracted during a blood-tissue transplant or blood transfusion, Morrey said. Such cases are rare – one in a million, he said.
CJD can take a long time to present itself after contact with the infectious agent.
“There may or may not be a large number of people who could get the disease,” Morrey said.
The government wants to be prepared in case of an outbreak in Great Britain, although many people believe there is no risk of one occurring in the United States.
The contract awarded by NIH is good for seven years, although they hope to find significant leads soon, Morrey said.
Around 15 to 20 pre-medical students at USU have participated in research over the years, Morrey said.
“This project is jazzy enough that it will be good on the students’ résumés,” Morrey said.