Bird Flu: Science and Policy

[DewDiligence]

EMEA backs first avian flu vaccines for birds

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060721:MTFH07353_2...

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LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - European regulators have given a green light to the first two avian influenza vaccines for use in birds, the European Medicines Agency said on Friday.

The decision means vaccines will be available to control avian flu in chickens and ducks in the high-risk autumn and winter 2006 period.

Both vaccines -- from Intervet, a unit of Akzo Nobel <AKZO.AS>, and Fort Dodge Animal Health, part of Wyeth < WYE > -- reduce mortality and virus excretion in vaccinated birds exposed to infection.

The agency's expert veterinary committee said they should only be used in disease control campaigns carried out by government-appointed authorities, adding that their use would be reviewed annually.

"Authorisation of these products provides assurance to national authorities of the quality of the vaccines should vaccination be used as a measure to control avian influenza in birds," the agency said in a statement.

The decision on whether or not to use the vaccines will be made by national governments in consultation with the European Commission.

The virus strains present in the vaccines are H5N2 and H5N3, respectively, which the agency said had been selected to protect birds against exposure to virulent H5N1 field strains.

Effective control of avian flu in birds is considered important not only for animal health but also to reduce the risk of a human pandemic flu strain sparked by the virus.

The H5N1 avian flu virus has spread among birds across Asia, Europe and Africa. So far, it is relatively hard for people to catch, but it has killed more than 130 around the world who have come into close contact with infected birds. Scientists, however, fear H5N1 will mutate into a strain that spreads easily between humans, sparking a pandemic in which millions of people could die.
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