UCI vaccine work gets $3 million

Marisa O’Neil

Researchers on campus received a $3-million grant to develop a

vaccine for highly infectious bacteria that could be used in

bioterrorism.

The bacteria, which causes tularemia, was used for biological

warfare in World War I, said Luis Villarreal, director of the Center

for Virus Research. Those infected can get pneumonia and other

respiratory problems.

It is so strong that 50 kilograms -- about the amount that would

fit in a suitcase -- could infect 250,000 people and kill 19,000 if

dropped from an airplane, said Philip Felgner, a director at the

center.

“That would have to take a very large supply of antibiotics and

could deplete the supply,” Felgner said. “Treating this is not like a

regular strep infection. You would have to take antibiotics for six

months or a year.”

Felgner and Villarreal’s vaccine research differs from the “dirty”

vaccines of the past, which use the entire bacteria and can cause

serious side effects or even infection with the bacteria itself,

Felgner said. Instead, they are sorting through the 2,000 proteins

that make up the bacteria to find ones that could effectively stave

off infection without making the person getting the vaccine sick.

UCI researchers have developed a process called PCR Express that

allows them to quickly separate the proteins.

This grant is the first awarded by the National Institutes of

Health from a series the team has applied for. They hope to use the

same process to develop vaccines for smallpox, SARS and the plague.

Tularemia is also known as “rabbit fever” because the bacterium

grows on the fur of rabbits. Commonly found on rabbits on Martha’s

Vineyard, the bacteria are sometimes spread by lawnmowers running

over rabbit carcasses. Most infections from the naturally occurring

strain are not fatal, Felgner said, and often cause skin irritation.

The UCI researchers are collaborating with the Defence Science and

Technology Laboratory, the scientific research wing of the United

Kingdom Ministry of Defence.