Italy’s Bird Flu Strategy Relies Heavily on Vaccines – Paper

Text of report by Daniela Daniele: “Avian flu: ‘Italy lagging behind’” by Italian newspaper La Stampa website on 12 September

Rome: The Storace [Francesco, Italian health minister] Decree on the agenda for this morning’s cabinet meeting makes provision for stocks of antivirus drugs sufficient to treat 10 per cent of the population in the event of avian flu turning into a pandemic. Meanwhile, the WHO is implicitly compiling a league table of the more diligent countries, given that Italy can reckon on no more than 200,000 antiviral cycles, whereas other nations have got their hands on larger quantities, obtaining options on millions of doses. One such is the Netherlands, whose “booty” comprises over 5m treatments, giving it cover for almost a third of its 16.5m inhabitants. Another is Britain, which has set aside drugs sufficient for 25 per cent of its 60m-strong population. Norway, Iceland and Ireland follow. But not even half the countries have a plan for addressing a flu epidemic. “We are still not sufficiently geared up, and the poorer countries run the risk of lacking any defence,” the WHO’s Klaus Stohr said, speaking at the Malta European Conference on Avian Flu.

Italy has opted to wager on the vaccine strategy. The contracts it has clinched with the three main producers will enable it to field 36m doses, against spending to the tune of 5.4m [euros]. The companies are working on the production of the drug to combat the H5N1 virus to blame for avian flu.

Talking about prevention, Health Undersecretary Cesare Cursi will be attending an information meeting in Russia commencing today. “There will be 50 countries, from Europe and beyond, attending to find out what has been done to counter the threat of migrating birds bringing the virus into Europe from those very eastern regions,” he said. “We want to establish closer contact as of now with the veterinary departments in those high-risk areas.”

What new things did the antipandemic decree hold out? “In addition to procurement of the antivirus drugs and the options on the vaccine doses, an Animal Defence Centre is to be set up, a crisis unit that will conduct preventive work in conjunction with the regional and provincial governments, the National Health Institute, and animal disease prevention institutes.” He also announced that more veterinarians would be hired and that the ranks of the NAS [(Carabinieri) Anti-Adulteration Unit] would be swollen “to step up inspections”.

Meanwhile, back in Malta, the experts who have flown in from the rest of the world are reckoning up how much an outbreak of flu might cost. Taking account of deaths, hospitalizations and doctors’ visits, the United States puts the figure at between 71.3 and 166.5m dollars, excluding costs to businesses and society.