Vaccines target bird flu virus
By Wang Ying (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-03-11 23:57

Two new vaccines for the H5N1 bird flu virus have been developed by Chinese scientists, the Ministry of Agriculture announced Thursday.

The new vaccines are safer and more effective than previous versions developed at home and abroad, the ministry's spokesman said.

Laboratory studies showed the two new vaccines can produce highly intensified antibodies that target the H5N1 virus and can remain effective within an animal's immune system for as long as 10 months, much longer than other vaccines of its kind in the world, scientists said.

Developed by more than 30 Chinese scientists from two national key laboratories, the new vaccines got preliminary approval from the National Agricultural Bio-Safety Committee and the ministry's Animal Medicine Evaluation Committee.

Thanks to their safety and efficiency in small-scale trials, the new vaccines have been put into large-scale production and are expected to be used widely on poultry and birds.

"The new vaccines will give the fight against bird flu a powerful boost, both in China and the rest of the world," the spokesman said.

The virulent H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus is proving difficult to stamp out, with new and recurring outbreaks among poultry despite the slaughter of 100 million birds. Experts said culling is by far the most effective way to combat the disease, though it can also worsen the plight of poor farmers unless they get help.

Meanwhile, the WHO influenza network has decided to provide China with prototype vaccine strains to assist developing a bird flu vaccine for humans, said Roy Wadia, of the WHO's China office.

The prototype bird flu vaccine is likely to be available by the end of this month and will be given to vaccine makers around the world, including China, which can produce clinical batches for first-phase tests on humans, he added.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Thursday started accepting applications for the importation of chilled and frozen poultry meat from the mainland .

Hong Kong officials said they monitored the bird flu outbreak situation in the mainland very closely before deciding to resume the imports.