U.S. ready for bird flu

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has approved for the first time a vaccine to prevent bird flu in humans.

FDA officials gave approval this week for the Sanofi-Aventis vaccine to be used to prevent bird flu in humans in the event of a bird flu pandemic.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has already killed millions of birds and almost 200 people mostly in Asia and fears remain that the virus will mutate into a strain which passes easily between people triggering a worldwide pandemic.

At present almost all cases of the deadly virus have been contracted by close contact with infected birds.

The vaccine will not be sold commercially but the government in the U.S. is stockpiling an emergency supply for use in the event of an outbreak.

The vaccine could be used to provide some initial protection in the months before a vaccine tailored to a specific pandemic strain of the virus can be produced.

Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, the head of the FDA, says the approval of the vaccine is an important step forward as the threat of an influenza pandemic is currently one of the most significant public health issues the U.S. and the world faces.

The vaccine was apparently derived from a human strain and is intended for immunizing people age 18 to 64 years of age who could be at increased risk of exposure to the H5N1 influenza virus.

According to the FDA's Office of Vaccines Research and Review, the vaccine is safe and effective and is meant as an interim measure until more appropriate ones are developed.

The dose needed is higher than the one used in seasonal flu vaccines with two shots being required 28 days apart.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says of the 291 people known to have been infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus, 172 have died.