Italian Government to Allocate Funds for Avian Flu Vaccine
Posted on: Tuesday, 13 September 2005, 09:01 CDT
Italian government to allocate funds for avian flu vaccine
ROME, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Italian cabinet will earmark funds to acquire enough avian flu vaccine to protect the Italian population, Italian Health Minister Francesco Storace announced here on Monday.
"In Italy we have focused our efforts more on preventive vaccines than on medicines. We are first in the world for stipulating contracts with the three pharmaceutical companies which are developing and producing the vaccines and have already ordered 35 million doses," Storace said on Italian radio on Monday.
Italy will also order medicines to treat avian flu and the funds for this will be allocated on Friday as well, the minister added.
According to the results of a study presented this past weekend in Malta at the second European conference on influenza, an avian flu epidemic in Italy could see up to 16 million people catching the disease, two million of whom would need hospitalisation.
A recent study from the World Health Organization (WHO) singled out Italy for being behind in stockpiling anti-flu vaccine.
In fact, Italy's target to have enough vaccine for 10 percent of its population is still far behind those of other European countries.
Avian flu, also called bird flu, is a highly contagious viral disease which can be 100 percent fatal among fowl. All types of birds are susceptible to the virus but outbreaks occur most often in chickens and turkeys.
One of the greatest problems in containing avian flu is that it can be carried by migratory wild birds which often show no signs of disease.
Although humans are only rarely affected, scientists are concerned that the virus which causes the flu could mutate into a more dangerous form.
At present, the symptoms of avian flu in humans are similar to regular flu and pose a greater risk to people with respiratory complications and illnesses.
Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS
Related Articles
- U.S. Adults 'Needlessly Vulnerable' to Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, According to New Report
- Adults Need Protection Against Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, Too
- HIV Vaccine Funding: 'Enough is Enough,' Says AHF in Baltimore Sun
- Half of Flu Viruses Immune to Vaccine
- Health Officals Urge Travelers to Get Vaccinated Against Diseases
- Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Developing Avian Influenza (H5N1) Vaccine for Humans and Animals
- Control Measures Effective for Avian Flu Cases in Italy, FAO Says
- AHF Questions Push for More AIDS Vaccine Funding While World Awaits ARV Treatment
- Brown Hopes to Save 10 Million Lives With New $4bn Vaccination Fund
- Italian AIDS Vaccine Passes First Test
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds