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Recent years have seen unprecedented outbreaks of avian influenza A viruses. In particular, highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses have not only resulted in widespread outbreaks in domestic poultry, but have been transmitted to humans resulting in numerous fatalities. The rapid expansion in their geographic distribution and the possibility that these viruses could acquire the ability to spread from person to person raise the risk that such a virus could cause a global pandemic with high morbidity and mortality. An effective influenza vaccine represents the best approach to prevent and control such an emerging pandemic. However, current influenza vaccines are directed at existing seasonal influenza viruses, which have limited antigenic relationships to the highly pathogenic H5N1 strains. Concerns about pandemic preparedness have greatly stimulated research activities to develop effective vaccines for pandemic influenza viruses, and to overcome the limitations inherent in current approaches to vaccine production and distribution. These limitations include the use of embryonated chicken eggs as the substrate for vaccine production; which is time-consuming and could involve potential biohazards in growth of new virus strains. Other limitations include the requirement that the current inactivated influenza vaccines be administered using needles and syringes, requiring trained personnel, which could be a bottleneck when attempting to vaccinate large populations in mass campaigns. In addition, the current inactivated vaccines which are delivered by injection elicit limited protective immunity in the upper respiratory tract where the infection process is initiated. Most of these limitations of the current vaccines are being addressed by research on novel approaches to vaccine development and delivery that are described in many of the chapters in this volume.

Disease Outbreaks. --- Influenza vaccines. --- Influenza Vaccines -- therapeutic use. --- Influenza, Human. --- Influenzavirus A. --- Influenza Vaccines --- Influenzavirus A --- Influenza, Human --- Disease Outbreaks --- Orthomyxoviridae --- Viral Vaccines --- Public Health --- Orthomyxoviridae Infections --- Respiratory Tract Infections --- Environment and Public Health --- RNA Viruses --- Vaccines --- Respiratory Tract Diseases --- RNA Virus Infections --- Diseases --- Biological Products --- Virus Diseases --- Viruses --- Health Care --- Vertebrate Viruses --- Complex Mixtures --- Organisms --- Chemicals and Drugs --- Microbiology & Immunology --- Biology --- Health & Biological Sciences --- Viral vaccines. --- Virus vaccines --- Influenza virus vaccines --- Medicine. --- Immunology. --- Pharmacology. --- Virology. --- Public health. --- Biomedicine. --- Pharmacology/Toxicology. --- Public Health. --- Community health --- Health services --- Hygiene, Public --- Hygiene, Social --- Public health services --- Public hygiene --- Sanitary affairs --- Social hygiene --- Health --- Human services --- Biosecurity --- Health literacy --- Medicine, Preventive --- National health services --- Sanitation --- Microbiology --- Drug effects --- Medical pharmacology --- Medical sciences --- Chemicals --- Chemotherapy --- Drugs --- Pharmacy --- Immunobiology --- Life sciences --- Serology --- Clinical sciences --- Medical profession --- Human biology --- Pathology --- Physicians --- Physiological effect --- Viral vaccines --- Medical virology. --- Toxicology. --- Medicine --- Pharmacology --- Poisoning --- Poisons --- Medical microbiology --- Virology --- Virus diseases --- Toxicology