Experimental Sars vaccine could be tested on humans

A new, experimental vaccine against Sars that protects mice from the infectious disease could soon be tested in humans.

Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome), which first emerged in southern China in 2002, has since infected more than 8000 people in nearly 30 countries and killed nearly 800.

The experimental vaccine, which contains a small piece of DNA from the virus that causes the respiratory illness, stopped it replicating in infected mice.

"The good news from this study is that it really provides the first proof of concept that you can vaccinate and you can get immune protection against the Sars coronavirus," said Dr Gary Nabel of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US.