There is an increased Gold rush for Bird flu vaccines and drugs world wide with increased demand in United States. Due to shortage of vaccines for bird flu vaccines the US has given contract to the Pharmaceutical Company Chiron Corporation to produce Bird flu vaccine. The contract is worth $62.5 million to produce the vaccines to encounter the demand.
US Health Secretary Mike Leavitt said the move would address a shortfall in the nation's vaccine stockpile and said, 'The hard truth is that capacity doesn't exist within the United States to produce vaccines of sufficient speed and in sufficient quantity to reach every American.'Chiron corporation is to produce flu vaccine from the inactivated flu strain H5N1 through tissue culture the production will be done in its factory in Liverpool, England. Chiron is expected to complete its production and deliver the stocks to the public in US by the starting of 2006.
(IANS)
Avian Influenza or Bird Flu:
This is also commonly called bird flu. Although the disease mainly spreads from birds to other animal species, even to humans, In the avian form, the disease is borne by wild birds, especially ducks, and so it may be difficult to contain the spread of the disease. The first cases of humans being infected by the strain of H5N1 avian influenza were reported in January 2004 in Thailand and Vietnam.
