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(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Messenger Ribonucleic Acid

(SEPTEMBER-2024)

Messenger Ribonucleic Acid

The World Health Organisation has recently announced a new Messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA) vaccine development initiative against human avian influenza.

Rational Behind to Develop mRNA Vaccine

The bird flu H5N1 first emerged in 1996, but since 2020 an exponential growth in outbreaks in birds has occurred and infected some 26 mammalian species, including cattle in US farms.
According to the WHO, between 2003 and April 1, 2024, close to 900 human infections of H5N1 have been reported from 23 countries, of which, more than half were fatal. For the first time, three cases of human infection in dairy farm workers were also reported in India, raising fears of the risks of a wider transmission of this virus from cattle to humans. This has prompted fears the virus could spark a future pandemic.
Also, Covid pandemic exposed glaring global vaccine inequity and demands for a fairer distribution amid efforts to use the technology against other diseases.
The WHO said Argentinian manufacturer Sinergium Biotech would lead the effort and had already begun developing candidate H5N1 vaccines.

What is mRNA?

mRNA—or messenger RNA—is a molecule that contains the instructions or recipe that directs the cells to make a protein using its natural machinery.
To enter cells smoothly, mRNA travels within a protective bubble called a Lipid Nanoparticle.
Once inside, our cells read the mRNA as a set of instructions, building proteins that match up with parts of the pathogen called antigens.
The immune system sees these foreign antigens as invaders—dispatching defenders called antibodies and T-cells—and training the immune system for potential future attacks.