Saving lives with Anton Paar refractometers

2019-11-28 | Corporate

Influenza is unpredictable. Nobody knows when and where an epidemic will rise, but for sure it will every year in winter. Also this year. The World Health Organization (WHO) continuously monitors the influenza spreading over the years and gives a recommendation for four viral strains, which most probably will be spread during the upcoming winter. As soon as this recommendation is given, the production of the corresponding influenza vaccination starts at one of our customers.

From chicken egg to influenza vaccination

Every day a fleet of trucks delivers a valuable and fragile cargo to the customer’s sites: several hundred thousand chicken eggs per day. Each of the hundred thousands of eggs receives a viral strain. Afterwards, it is incubated for several days to allow the virus to multiply. Next, a vaccine is harvested from the virus by separating it from the egg, purifying it in several stages, filtering and splitting it up into fragments and treating it to "kill" the virus. The final step is the separation of the deactivated virus, which results in the final vaccine. 

In order to get a better coverage of the possible spreading influenza viruses, a flu shot does not only contain one inactivated virus but a mixture of up to four different virus strains. 

The stage belongs to the Abbemat

But which role does an Anton Paar Abbemat refractometer play in this progress? Refractometers measure the concentration of liquid, gels and solid. During the centrifugal separation process the Abbemat is used to measure the sample coming from the centrifuge and determining which fractions need to be discarded and which ones are collected. 

Now, since we know, that our next influenza vaccination is quality controlled by an Abbemat refractometer from Anton Paar at highest possible level we should be confident and seriously consider a flu shot before the next influenza epidemic will catch us.