infectious disease specialist Edwin D. Kilbourne, now 88 and retired, was the center of the last warning to swine flu in the US in 1976, a strain of swine flu has swept Fort Dix military base in New Jersey. The virus has infected about 500 soldiers, but not all were sick; one died. Kilbourne, then medical school at Mount Sinai in New York, specializing in the development of specific strains of flu vaccines and was quickly recruited to help fight against a dreaded epidemic of swine flu. Forty million Americans were then vaccinated against the virus, and several hundred have developed a neurological disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, fueling controversy over whether this extended vaccination was necessary. Kilbourne spoke with Science Insider from his home in Connecticut earlier today. Parts of the interview were edited for clarity.
Q & A after the jump
Q :. What are your memories of that time?
I recombine, or recourse, influenza viruses for several years before that, for producing influenza viruses in high yield [that could be developed into vaccines]. David Sencer, director of the CDC who had to resign later [as a result of swine flu], was a friend of mine and put me on the advisory committee having to do with the situation Fort Dix. [Virus samples were] sent to me at my lab at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where I chaired microbiology. In a few weeks, we had a high virus yield [and] I had the manufactured vaccine virus. ... There were reasons to be afraid, we knew that a virus very similar to swine flu was present in 1918. This gave a great concern to those of us who knew something about the situation.
Q: You felt it was important to have this vaccine
I thought it was important, it could have been the putative virus of 1918 for all we knew. [But], there were those violently opposed to the situation. I call my 15 minutes of infamy. It's got to be a bad word, swine flu. On the other hand, if we had not had the vaccine and something had happened, that would be blamed? The entire medical profession.
Q: What about adverse reactions to the vaccine
This was the largest field trial of a vaccine in history, achieved in 1976. There was no basis for comparison which is the normal occurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome. People compete to date if [the vaccine] really had no effect on incidence. There are many things that cause Guillain-Barre.
Q: Have you been criticized for vaccine development
With cartoons, news programs. ... It was an interesting turn
Q :. If you were advising those who attack the current swine flu, what would you tell them?
The only thing I would have done differently in 1976, in retrospect, is to make the vaccine, to promote the vaccine, but do not give the vaccine until the last moment, but the problem with this is that you may be too late. By all means, find the prevalent strain, a vaccine that can be used, and grow in eggs, then go with it. [But] I think it is premature to do so [vaccinate] now
Q:.? Did you continue to work on swine flu after 1976
Oh, of course. We used in animal studies, it has been used by people in other countries as a fast growing virus vaccine. It is an interesting virus.
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