Volunteers sought for bird flu vaccine trial

A university is looking for volunteers to try out a new vaccine to protect humans against a potential bird flu pandemic.

The University of Nottingham is going to be helping to deliver the national trial, which is testing how effective the vaccine is against the virus.

The university said the disease currently does not spread easily from birds to humans and it is even rarer for it to pass between people.

But experts want to prepare for the possibility of it mutating and learn how to best protect people from another pandemic.

Prof David Turner, consultant microbiologist at the university, said: "[It's] one of the viruses we're most worried about as the potential next pandemic.

"It's not that likely in the near-future but it's really unpredictable as to when this might transfer into humans and become a real problem for human populations.

"Having a vaccine we can give to people which is safe and effective would be extremely valuable."

Nottingham will be one of 26 sites across the UK administering the vaccine.

The vaccine targets the H5N1 flu strain which has caused devastating infections in bird populations and has spread to some mammals.

Farms in Nottinghamshire have had to cull whole populations of birds because an infection has been found.

The vaccine uses the same mRNA technology used in current Covid jabs, with scientists saying this enables the vaccine to be created quickly and at scale, in the event of a pandemic.

There have been 116 confirmed human cases around the world since 2024, almost all linked to close contact with infected animals.

The trial will involve about 3,000 adults in the UK and will examine whether the vaccine is safe and can generate a strong immune response.

If so, it could then be licensed for use if needed.

Listen to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sounds and follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.