Reuters
The H5N1 strain of avian flu has devastated poultry flocks in southeast Asia and caused the deaths of 47 people. It is considered a global health threat, because it could mutate into a strain that is easily passed from person to person, people have no immunity to it, and a vaccine would take months to produce.
Evidence that protease inhibitors may be of use against H5N1 is indirect, suggested by findings that these agents are effective against a third virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS (news - web sites)) virus, which has structural similarities to H5N1.
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