The Russian Ministry of Health has announced that the country is ready to produce 60 million doses of avian influenza vaccine for humans by next September.
 |
Mr. Mikhail Zurabov – Russian Minister of Health (Photo: voanews) |
According to Russian Health Minister Mikhail Zurabov, trials of this vaccine have been conducted on 200 volunteers in Moscow and 156 individuals in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city.
“All results from the vaccine trials will be submitted to the Ministry of Health on September 10,” he stated. Initial trials have shown promising results, with no side effects reported.
So far, avian influenza has claimed at least 132 lives worldwide and shows no signs of abating. Scientists are concerned that the virus could mutate and easily spread from human to human, potentially leading to a global epidemic. The World Bank has warned that if this occurs, it could result in 70 million deaths and cause a global economic loss of $2 trillion.
Mikhail Zurabov reported that pharmaceutical companies such as Sanofi-Aventis SA, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, MedImmune Inc., and Vical Inc. are racing to develop treatments for avian influenza in anticipation of a potential outbreak.
Russia has planned to bolster its fight against avian influenza by investing $40 million to upgrade domestic research facilities and those in Central Asia. At the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, the country also proposed the establishment of a center for avian influenza prevention for the Central Asia and Eurasian regions.
TUONG VY
