Taiwan is expected to put out its first vaccine against the deadly H7N9 strain of avian flu by the end of 2014
First Probable Person to Person Transmission of H7N9 Bird Flu Virus in China
Chinese scientists on Wednesday reported the first probable case of direct person-to-person transmission of the H7N9 bird flu virus that has killed over 40 people since March.
Chinese scientists on Wednesday reported the first probable case of direct person-to-person transmission of the H7N9 bird flu virus that has killed over 40 people since March.
Although the patient was eventually discharged, the outbreak prompted Taiwanese authorities to gear up research on a vaccine against the strain of avian influenza, given the ever closer exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
"We plan to start Phase II clinical trial in March," which will contain 300 clinical cases, Su Ih-jen, director of the National Institute of Diseases and Vaccinology at the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI), told AFP.
China Confirms 131 H7N9 Avian Flu Cases Including 39 Deaths
On the Chinese mainland, a total of 131 H7N9 avian flu cases have been reported including 39 cases resulting in deaths, authorities said.
On the Chinese mainland, a total of 131 H7N9 avian flu cases have been reported including 39 cases resulting in deaths, authorities said.
The NHRI is able to produce 200,000 doses of the cell-based vaccine once the project clears the Phase III trial stage, he said.
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H7N9 Influenza Strain Resistant to Antivirals, but Tests Fail to Identify Resistance: Study
Some strains of the avian H7N9 influenza that emerged in China this year have developed resistance to the only antiviral drugs available to treat the infection.
Some strains of the avian H7N9 influenza that emerged in China this year have developed resistance to the only antiviral drugs available to treat the infection.
"As of now H7N9 is the virus most likely to cause comprehensive transmission throughout the world as studies show that it can be spread through upper respiratory tract," Su said.
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Since 2003, the H5N1 strain has killed more than 250 people in a dozen countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
As of August, WHO has been informed of a total of 135 laboratory-confirmed human cases with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, including 44 deaths. Most of the cases were recorded in China.
Following its first outbreak, Taiwan had brought forward plans to ban the killing of live poultry in traditional markets by a month, to May 17.
Under the ban, market vendors will not be allowed to sell birds they have killed themselves, only poultry supplied from Taiwan's 79 approved slaughterhouses.
There are about 870,000 Taiwanese people living in China. Trade and cross-strait travel have soared in recent years, after decades of tension since the two sides split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.
Source-AFP
