Doctors are looking for 150 volunteers in Oxfordshire to test out a revolutionary vaccine against bird flu.

Scientists from Oxford University's Oxford Vaccine Group are hoping to recruit enough people including 75 who are over 60 to test two new vaccine formulations in the preparation against a feared pandemic.

It follows concerns the avian flu H5N1 virus will develop into a highly infectious form, which humans are not naturally immune to with forecasts of up to 50,000 dead in Britain if there is an outbreak.

The Oxford study, which will run alongside three trials in Belgium, is the second of its kind in Europe. The Sanofi Pasteur-funded vaccine has already been successfully tested on 300 adults in France.

Dr Andrew Pollard, a senior lecturer in paediatric infectious diseases, said it was an exciting time and urged people to come forward for the study.

He said: "There's a lot of interest in the idea of bird flu vaccines. This is at a stage of testing where we don't know what vaccine would protect people against the strain at the moment in birds.

"We don't know whether bird flu will become a major human problem or not, but certainly it has been very aggressive in birds over the past year.

"I think it's right that the World Health Organisation and other regulatory bodies try to push manufacturers to develop things to get experience and have something that could be used in the near future."

He said Oxford was chosen for the trial as it is one of the main sites in the UK for vaccine studies.

He added: "We are looking for individuals over 18, and we need 75 people under 60 and 75 over 60. We need evidence that it works in all age groups."

Dr Pollard said he did not think the recent Parexel drugs trial in London that left six men in intensive care would put off volunteers.

He said: "It's difficult to gauge what people's response will be but this is a very different situation as it's basically based on the influenza vaccines.

"In that case it was the first time the drug had been used on humans. It's different here as it has already been trialled in France."

He said the vaccine did not have any serious side-effects, other than the possibility of sore arms and a high temperature.

The study involves volunteers having an vaccination, a second dose three weeks later and a booster jab within a year, with up to seven visits to the Churchill Hospital in Headington over 12 or 18 months.

It is an inactivated vaccine, which are previously virulent micro- organisms that have been killed with chemicals or heat.

Volunteers would not be paid but would have their expenses reimbursed.

To volunteer for the trial, or for more information, call 01865 857420.