Flu vaccine tests on human to start

The volunteers are aged between 18 and 49 years - and this first study on humans will run for a month. Testing will then be extended to 400 volunteers, Wichai said.

Recently, GPO scientists injected the vaccine virus into 1,500 specific free pathogen eggs to incubate it. But the yield harvested was low and insufficient for human testing, although proven safe for animals.

Last week GPO decided to re-incubate the vaccine virus in another 1,500 eggs in the expectation the second lot would produce a higher yield of virus vaccine.

Originally, GPO planned to run the vaccine test in 12 volunteers on September 4, using the vaccine virus collected from the first lot of 1,500 eggs, while the remaining 12 volunteers would wait for the harvest from the second lot of eggs.

On Tuesday, GPO decided to delay its testing to September 21, by when the scientists could harvest the vaccine virus from the second lot of specific free pathogen eggs with a higher yield than the first.

This would give the team time to study the vaccine's toxicity, its safety and sterilisation in animals before testing begins on the 24 volunteers.

Wichai said a new challenge for GPO is that the supply of specific free pathogen hen eggs used to incubate the vaccine is running out. " [It] is not enough to incubate the virus vaccine," he said.

It has used 6,000 hen eggs imported from Germany in the two series of tests and is now seeking the specific free pathogen hen eggs from other countries. GPO has also asked for help from the World Health Organisation and the United States Food and Drug Administration on vaccine production.

Wichai expects, however, the vaccine production will follow GPO's schedule and the first batch of live attenuated vaccine against the new flu pandemic could be launched by December.

"I am sure that the process ... is now on schedule," Wichai insisted.

The Public Health Ministry yesterday reported total local fatalities from type-A (H1N1) influenza was now at 130; and laboratory confirmed cases of the flu numbered 16,876.

The ministry estimates 20 million people will be infected with the new flu virus during the first wave of the pandemic due to end in two months.

The Public Health Ministry will today discuss with a sub-committee a control and prevention strategy for influenza 2009, and with health experts on the threat of flu virus mutation.

The Public Health Ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Dr Paijit Warachit said cases of infected people with the new flu virus in Bangkok and its nearby provinces had decreased; and the number of people with flu-like illness admitted to hospitals had also dropped - from 18,000 cases per day to 9,000.

But the ministry has seen a drastic increase in infected people in upcountry provinces, especially in North and Northeast region. It will call provincial public health chiefs in 36 provinces in these areas to discuss preventive measures to handle the pandemic.

And next week, the ministry will meet the Federation of Thai Industry and the Thai Chamber of Commerce to examine plans to handle the spread of disease among workers - 37 million of whom are in factories.