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New cold and flu research centre opens in London

02/06/2008

More than 200 scientists are to work in a new London-based centre to study respiratory infections such as colds and flu.

They will investigate how common cold viruses cause disease and affect long-term health, how to make better vaccines to prevent lung infections and how to diagnose tuberculosis more accurately.

The £3.4 million Centre for Respiratory Infection at Imperial College London (ICL) will also be take action if there is a new outbreak of pandemic flu such as a mutated form of bird flu or SARS.

Researchers at the new centre are establishing a clinical team that will bring doctors and researchers together to bring a future flu pandemic under control quickly and effectively.

"We can only move fast to bring an epidemic under control if we have staff ready and plans already in place," said Professor Peter Openshaw, director of the new centre from the National Heart and Lung Institute at ICL.

"To plan at the stage when patients start coming in through casualty will be impossible."

He added: "Respiratory infections are at the root of many of the diseases that we treat every day.

"This new initiative is a great opportunity to get something done. We have a lot of very talented groups working on different aspects of lung infections, and bringing them together with solid shared support will help them work on common goals, to the great benefit of patients."