Govt considers building human-flu vaccine factory
The government has assigned the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) to combine a scheme to fight human influenza with the second phase of efforts against bird-flu.
The Public Health Ministry has proposed a budget to build a factory producing vaccines against influenza following the death of three people from human flu this year. The government's bird-flu panel meeting yesterday assigned the NESDB to work with related agencies to boost the second phase plan so that it includes emergency measures for avian or human influenza outbreaks, said Deputy Agriculture and Co-operatives Minister Rung-ruang Isarangkura na Ayudhya. Thailand has experienced two bird-flu outbreaks in Nong Khai and Phitsanulok so far this year, but no reports of bird-flu infections in humans to date and only 40 people currently on the bird-flu watch list, Rungruang said. Meanwhile, PM's Office spokes-man Yongyuth Mayalarp said the bird-flu situation would be spelt out at Government House tomorrow. Deputy Prime Minister Kosit Panpiemras said he had approved a budget of Bt100,000 for each province, as requested by the Public Health Ministry, to carry out annual bird-flu drills to ensure provinces are well-prepared for a possible outbreak. The ministry also proposed the building factory to make a vaccine for human influenza on the grounds that Thailand lacks an adequate supply of vaccines, and imports were limited to 300,000 doses. Disease Control Department chief Dr Thawat Suntrajarn said the factory proposal would be submitted to the Cabinet meeting next Tuesday, or the Public Health Minister would make a request to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to ask the Chinese government for co-operation on technology-sharing for the factory. The plant would cost between Bt400 million and Bt600 million to build. Thawat said the meeting also approved the use of a bird-flu vaccine for poultry in the event of a 'third-level epidemic' - following the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) resolution. A third-level epidemic is a large-scale outbreak that persists for a continuous two-week period, he said, quoting the Livestock Development Depart-ment. Such an outbreak would need about 50,000 doses of vaccine - worth around Bt68 million. In regard to the three deaths from the H3N2 strain of human flu, the Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla urged the public not to panic and rush to be vaccinated, as only at-risk groups such as the medical profession and disease control officials needed it. Piyanart Srivalo, Duangkamon Sajirawatthanakul The Nation
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