GENEVA — Health experts are looking closely at the spread of swine flu among people in Spain, Britain and Japan, an official with the World Health Organization said Sunday.
The swine flu epidemic is expected to dominate the group’s annual meeting, a five-day event that begins today in Geneva and involves health officials from the agency’s 193 member states.
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan will reveal experts’ recommendations on the production of a swine flu vaccine sometime at the meeting.
As of Sunday, the swine flu virus — which WHO calls the A (H1N1) virus — has sickened at least 8,480 people in 39 countries, killing 75 of them, mostly in Mexico.
Spain and Britain have had the highest numbers of cases in Europe, reporting 103 and 101 cases.
A pandemic could be triggered if the virus starts to be transmitted from person to person on a large scale outside the Americas, WHO experts have said. But it would have to jump among people outside schools, hospitals and other institutions that typically pass on such viruses quickly.
Vaccine takes months
WHO estimates up to 2 billion doses of swine flu vaccine could be produced yearly, although the first batches wouldn’t be available for four to six months.
Most flu vaccine companies can only make one vaccine at a time: seasonal flu vaccine or pandemic vaccine. Production takes months, and it is impossible to switch halfway through if health officials make a mistake.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a "seed stock” to make the vaccine, which should be ready in a few weeks. Until vaccine manufacturers get the seed stock, they won’t know how many doses of vaccine they can make or how long that would take.
WHO is negotiating with vaccine producers to save some of their swine flu vaccine for poorer nations. Many rich nations have already signed deals with vaccine makers to guarantee them pandemic vaccines.
by the associated press
The swine flu epidemic is expected to dominate the group’s annual meeting, a five-day event that begins today in Geneva and involves health officials from the agency’s 193 member states.
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan will reveal experts’ recommendations on the production of a swine flu vaccine sometime at the meeting.
As of Sunday, the swine flu virus — which WHO calls the A (H1N1) virus — has sickened at least 8,480 people in 39 countries, killing 75 of them, mostly in Mexico.
Spain and Britain have had the highest numbers of cases in Europe, reporting 103 and 101 cases.
A pandemic could be triggered if the virus starts to be transmitted from person to person on a large scale outside the Americas, WHO experts have said. But it would have to jump among people outside schools, hospitals and other institutions that typically pass on such viruses quickly.
Vaccine takes months
WHO estimates up to 2 billion doses of swine flu vaccine could be produced yearly, although the first batches wouldn’t be available for four to six months.
Most flu vaccine companies can only make one vaccine at a time: seasonal flu vaccine or pandemic vaccine. Production takes months, and it is impossible to switch halfway through if health officials make a mistake.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a "seed stock” to make the vaccine, which should be ready in a few weeks. Until vaccine manufacturers get the seed stock, they won’t know how many doses of vaccine they can make or how long that would take.
WHO is negotiating with vaccine producers to save some of their swine flu vaccine for poorer nations. Many rich nations have already signed deals with vaccine makers to guarantee them pandemic vaccines.
by the associated press
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