Combining forces against Influenza A
Influenza A is one of the most prolific and diverse viruses on Earth; its ability to rapidly mutate to resist treatment challenges the management of future pandemics. Now, A*STAR researchers have identified thousands of segments of RNA that could act as potential new antiviral drug targets, and provide protection against all strains of Influenza A. During a pandemic, which could take only two months to spread across the world, the creation of a new vaccine to target a specific strain of Influenza A could take up to six months. A new avenue being explored includes antiviral drugs created using so-called antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) -- synthetic polymers that can block disease progression by altering viral RNA activity. "The next Influenza A pandemic is inevitable, given how easy it is for an animal-based subtype to mutate and infect humans," says Keng Boon Wee at the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing, who worked on the project with scientists across Sin...