Geneva - Swiss drugmaker Novartis said Thursday it was in the process of developing a vaccine with a booster that could inoculate against all known H5N1 antigenic variants, or all types of avian influenza.

A study mixing Aflunov, an investigative pre-pandemic avian influenza vaccine, with a Novartis adjuvant, "elicited a long-lasting immune response that could be rapidly boosted following a single dose of the vaccine."

The booster shot could be taken up to six years after the original vaccine was administered.

Geneva  - World Health Organization Direc

Geneva - World Health Organization officials reiterated Tuesday that travel restrictions would not help stem the spread of the swine influenza virus, which was possibly spreading in the form of human-to-human transmission. "Border controls don't work, screenings don't work," said spokesman Gregory Hartl, speaking to reporters in Geneva. "Travel restrictions do not help."

The incubation period of the virus, which could be for up to six days, as well as the widespread nature, would make spot checks at airports, for example, ineffective.

Geneva - The timing of the swine flu outbreak, along with an economic crisis that was pounding the airline industry "could not be worse," the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Tuesday. "It is still too early to judge what the impact of swine flu will have on the bottom line. But it is sure that anything that shakes the confidence of passengers has a negative impact on the business," Giovanni Bisignani said.

Geneva - World Health Organization officials reiterated Tuesday that travel restrictions would not help stem the spread of the swine influenza virus. "Border controls don't work, screenings don't work," said spokesman Gregory Hartl, speaking to reporters in Geneva. "Travel restrictions do not help."

In response to action by some countries which have banned pork from Mexico and some US states, the WHO reaffirmed that it did not recommend such moves.

Geneva - The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert level for influenza one step to phase 4 in light of the developments of the swine flu outbreak, an official said Tuesday in Geneva. Margaret Chan, director general of the WHO, made the decision following an extradited meeting of the organization's emergency committee but did not recommend restrictions on travel.

The WHO's Keiji Fukuda said the heightened alert was a "sign of a step towards pandemic influenza but a stage that says we are not there yet."