SA vaccines to combat bird flu?
23 November 2005
An international consortium of scientists led by the Western Cape's Biovac Institute and the US National Institute for Communicable Diseases is investigating making human flu vaccines in South Africa, creating vital production capacity in case of a global flu pandemic.
The world is braced for the possibility of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu mutating into an equally deadly and easily transmitted human form, leading to a devastating worldwide flu pandemic. Some 67 people have died from H5N1 since 2003.
Biovac, the Biologicals and Vaccines Institute of Southern Africa, is a R500-million public-private partnership between the government and a group of healthcare companies aiming to revitalise the country's vaccine production capacity. Formed in 2003, the institute works closely with the World Health Organisation in monitoring flu strains.
"The study is in response to the H5N1 bird flu pandemic threat," Biovac's Dr Morena Makhoana said in a statement on Tuesday. "It aims to assess the potential impact of an influenza pandemic on Southern Africa and the most effective way in which flu vaccine manufacturing can be undertaken in the country.
"The study is important because a flu pandemic based on the H5N1 bird flu virus would have a devastating impact on Africa, where the vast majority of the population have little access to specialised health care."
The study will be undertaken by Cape Town-based technology consultancy Savant Analytic and is expected to take between six months a year to complete.
Makhoana said H5N1 flu in humans had a high mortality rate, with most victims being healthy children and young adults.
If production does go ahead, the institute will help in the production of a vaccine for the region.
"Current global flu vaccine manufacturing capacity is in the region of 300-million doses, with a maximum potential to triple this to 900-million doses in the short term," Makhoana said.
"It is apparent that these doses will be reserved for the developed nations that manufacture them."
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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