Hungary Has Enough Bird Flu Vaccine to Protect People at Risk: PM

Hungary has enough bird flu vaccine to protect people at risk: PM

BUDAPEST, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) — Hungary has a big enough stockpile of vaccines to protect some 20,000 people at risk of coming into contact with birds infected with avian flu, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said on Monday.

The vaccine is available and the permit for humans is ready to be obtained, but there is as yet no need to inject any vets or other people working with animals, Gyurcsany said on an evening television program.

Human tests of the new drug against the deadly H5N1 virus of bird flu started September, and more than 100 volunteers working in the healthcare sector have been injected.

The lethal H5N1 virus of bird flu was confirmed in Hungary on Tuesday, the seventh country in the European Union affected by the strain.