Kim Kyung-hyun
Korea University researcher |
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Korean researchers have completed a database of the genetic sequence of flu viruses that have emerged around the world over the past decade.
The team, led by Korea University's Kim Kyung-hyun, said their updated Influenza Sequence and Epitope Database (ISED), which was also made available online (http://influenza.korea.ac.kr), would be a crucial tool for combating flu epidemics and pandemics.
The database holds a total of 13,020 influenza-A and 2,984 influenza-B sequences which were obtained from 21 countries, including nine Asian states, and also the sequences of 545 amantadine-resistant influenza viruses collected in Korea.
Most of the sequenced influenza genes are from viruses that emerged after 1997, although some of the records include strains from flu outbreaks dating back to 1968.
The database could contribute to predicting the spread of influenza by tracking emerging strains and monitoring their migration and mutation, which could be crucial to vaccination efforts.
The research could also help in the study of deadly bird-flu strains, such as H5N1, and in the analysis of the possibilities of human infection, Kim said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) annually identifies the types of flu viruses most likely to emerge in any given year, allowing drug companies to produce their vaccines based on the prediction.
``The ISED is constantly updated, and we currently have the gene sequences of about 21,000 influenza viruses and 600 amantadine-resistant viruses,'' said Kim, a professor from Korea University's department of biotechnology and bioinformatics, whose team collaborated with researchers from the National Genome Research Institute (NGRI) on the recent project.
``We are also trying to produce a formula that could predict the evolution of strains, based on past mutation patterns in Korea and other Asian states. The formula will help the countries track and combat avian influenza by offering predictions for the migration and evolution of the viruses,'' he said.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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