Crucell Terug naar discussie overzicht

Draadje vogelgriep

1. [verwijderd] 18 november 2005 13:04

   auteur info

   • [verwijderd]

     Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

     Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 0

     Gegeven: 0

   •    Aantal posts: 0

   Heb ik de eer om te beginnen met draadjes nieuwe stijl?
   
   DJ Chugai:5 Of 12 Deaths Under FDA Review Not Due To Tamiflu
   
   11/18/2005
   Dow Jones News Services
   (Copyright © 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
   
   
   TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. (4519.TO) said Friday that five of the 12 deaths in Japan under investigation by U.S. authorities for links to the Tamiflu influenza drug are considered by Japanese doctors to be unrelated to the drug.
   
   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's review of the deaths and their possible connection to Tamiflu is based on reports that Chugai made to its parent company, Roche Holdings AG (RHHBY), the antiviral drug's producer.
   
   Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare doesn't have serious concerns about the safety of the influenza drug, an official at the health ministry's pharmaceutical and food safety bureau said.
   
   The ministry said it had received reports of 13 deaths of people who had taken Tamiflu, including one patient who took Tamiflu while it was still in clinical trials in Japan.
   
   A Chugai spokesman said the 12 deaths it reported include seven cases in which independent doctors could not rule out the effect of Tamiflu as a possible cause of the patients' deteriorated health at the time of their treatment.
   
   Those seven deaths, which didn't involve any neuropsychiatric events, were reported to Japan's health ministry by Chugai and Roche's Japanese unit, which began selling Tamiflu in 2001 and later merged with Chugai, he said.
   
   The companies also reported five deaths which doctors concluded were unrelated to Tamiflu, the spokesman said. Most of the five patients died of encephalopathy caused by influenza, he added.
   
   Earlier in the week, Chugai said that two Japanese teenagers showed abnormal behavior after taking Tamiflu. One of the teenagers jumped into the path of a running vehicle, while the other leaped from a building. Doctors were unable to determine if their deaths were linked to the drug.
   
   Drug makers aren't required to report such cases to the government, but Chugai unofficially notified the ministry of the five deaths, the spokesman said.
   
   The number of deaths among Japanese people who took Tamiflu isn't large, considering that the drug has been prescribed to an estimated 11.6 million people in the country, he added.
   
   The fact that all 12 deaths occurred in Japan doesn't mean that Japanese people are at a higher risk of possible adverse events linked to Tamiflu, as rates of Tamiflu use are very high in Japan, the spokesman said.
   
   The news triggered renewed selling of Chugai shares, which retreated in the previous week partly due to reports of the abnormal behavior and deaths of the two Japanese teenagers after taking Tamiflu. The issue was down 2.4% at Y2,795 midday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
   
   But the price is still about 12% above its one-month moving average on growing expectations for added profits from sales of the drug.
   
   Medical experts consider Tamiflu to be a key medical defense against an influenza pandemic as fears mount that the H5N1 bird-flu virus could mutate to spread among humans, prompting governments around the world to stockpile the drug.
   
   The FDA said it is proposing to continue monitoring for adverse pediatric effects associated with the drug for another two years.
   
   The agency also has a dozen separate reports of a serious skin condition and is considering adding new warnings to the drug's label.
   
   
   -Kazuhiro Shimamura, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; kazuhiro.shimamura@dowjones.com
   
   
2. [verwijderd] 18 november 2005 15:23

   auteur info

   • [verwijderd]

     Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

     Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 0

     Gegeven: 0

   •    Aantal posts: 0

   !!!China confirms its first three human cases of bird flu..
   !! Indonesia confirms two new bird flu deaths
   
   BEIJING -- China reported its first three documented human cases of avian influenza Wednesday, Nov. 16, as the government raced to vaccinate billions of chickens, ducks and other poultry in a massive effort to stop the spread of the virus.
   
   The World Health Organization said the victims contracted the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu, and two of them died.
   
   The Health Ministry confirmed two human cases in the central province of Hunan and one in the eastern province of Anhui, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Both areas reported outbreaks in poultry in the past month.
   
   Experts are especially worried about the potential for bird flu to spread and mutate in China because of its vast poultry flocks and their close contact with people. It also is a major migration route for wild fowl, which experts say might be spreading the virus.
   
   The H5N1 virus has killed at least 64 people in Asia since 2003.
   
   The Chinese government has responded quickly to public health threats after being criticized in 2003 for failing to respond to foreign pleas for information and cooperation at the start of its outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
   
   Since the SARS outbreak, Beijing has created disease testing laboratories and a national health warning network. It has promised to be more open about epidemics and to cooperate with other nations.
   
   Dick Thompson of the WHO's Communicable Disease Section told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the outbreaks in China represented "a very disturbing situation."
   
   "They have reported these outbreaks rapidly, they've been investigated promptly, the laboratory analysis was done under the supervision of WHO," Thompson said from Geneva. "I think they're doing the right things. It's just disappointing that there's so many human and animal outbreaks."
   
   The Chinese bird flu fatalities were a 12-year-old girl in Hunan and a 24-year-old female poultry worker in Anhui, said Roy Wadia, a WHO spokesman in Beijing. The third case was the girl's 9-year-old brother, who fell ill but recovered.
   
   China initially said the girl, her brother and a schoolteacher who fell ill at the same time were negative for the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu. But the government later reopened the investigation and asked WHO for help.
   
   Wadia said China recorded the girl as a bird flu death, but WHO could not reach a conclusion because her body was cremated. He said Chinese investigators based their decision on the girl's shared background with her brother and the circumstances of her illness. There was no official word on the teacher's status.
   
   The government had not previously disclosed there were any suspected human cases in Anhui, where an Oct. 20 outbreak in the city of Tiancheng killed about 550 birds.
   
   Wadia said the poultry worker did not live near the site of that outbreak.
   
   "She apparently had close contact with sick birds," he said. "She died in a hospital. She was therefore tested adequately."
   
   China has reported 11 outbreaks in chickens and ducks in the past month nationwide, prompting authorities to destroy millions of birds in an effort to contain the virus. The government also announced an ambitious effort to vaccinate all the country's more than 14 billion farm birds.
   
   Experts also are testing a poultry worker who fell ill in the northeastern province of Liaoning, which has suffered four outbreaks. All farm birds in the province were ordered vaccinated early this month, said Fu Jingwu, deputy director of the provincial Animal Health Supervision and Management Bureau.
   
   He said the effort covered 320 million birds. The province also has destroyed more than 15 million chickens, ducks and other birds.
   
   Also, on Nov. 16, the State Council, which is China's Cabinet, discussed enacting regulations on bird flu prevention, epidemic monitoring and emergency contingency plans, state television said.
   
   The council also said it would offer tax breaks and subsidies to help counter the effects of bird flu outbreaks.
   
   Meanwhile, government ministers at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan, South Korea, urged more regional and international cooperation and response to combat bird flu.
   
   U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged governments to improve communications and to encourage the private sector to help prepare for outbreaks before they happen.
   
   "New global pandemics, like avian influenza, require new, concerted action," she told APEC trade and foreign ministers.
   
   full story:
   
   www.poultryandeggnews.com/poultrytoda...
   www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/...
3. [verwijderd] 18 november 2005 15:59

   auteur info

   • [verwijderd]

     Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

     Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 0

     Gegeven: 0

   •    Aantal posts: 0

   Het verbaast niet dat er steeds ziektegevallen in Indonesië opduiken:
   
   ’Vogelgriep inheemse ziekte in Indonesië’
   
   Zaterdag 29 Oktober 2005
   
   
   door Paul Jansen
   
   Indonesië is een broedplaats voor de vogelgriep, die zich als een olievlek over de aarde uitbreidt. De Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie (WHO) houdt haar hart vast en vreest een pandemie met miljoenen doden. Leeft de wereld op een Indonesische vulkaan? We vroegen het aan Willie Blokvoort, een Nederlander die al jaren werkzaam is in de Indonesische pluimvee-industrie.
   
   „Weet je nog van de vernietiging van die 31 varkens en 40 eenden in Tangerang?” vraagt Blokvoort. Hij doelt op de voorstad van Jakarta, waar afgelopen zomer met veel tamtam besmette dieren in een kuil werden gedumpt nadat de eerste Indonesische vogelgriepdoden waren gevallen.
   
   „Die varkens waren helemaal niet ziek. De beesten waar het om ging waren al verkocht. Men heeft toen van elders 31 andere varkens gehaald en afgemaakt als zijnde de besmette dieren. Dat is Indonesië.” Blokvoort werkt al 17 jaar in de Indonesische pluimveesector. De manager van twee grote kippenbedrijven kent dus het klappen van de zweep. Terwijl de VN Indonesië voorzichtig aansporen tot meer actie uit vrees op lange tenen te gaan staan, neemt de Hollander geen blad voor de mond. „Het is een Indonesische gewoonte om bij problemen de andere kant op te kijken en te hopen dat het vanzelf weggaat. Maar dit gaat niet weg. De vogelgriep is hier nu een inheemse ziekte.”
   
   Er zijn twee dingen die je kunt doen als de vogelgriep toeslaat”, vervolgt de Nederlander. „Inenten of ruimen. Ruimen is duur, maar je bent het virus binnen een paar weken kwijt. Met vaccineren duurt dat jaren. In Indonesië kunnen ze niet ruimen, want er is geen geld. Dus wordt er ingeënt.”
   
   
   
4. [verwijderd] 19 november 2005 08:52

   auteur info

   • [verwijderd]

     Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

     Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 0

     Gegeven: 0

   •    Aantal posts: 0

   The Lancet 2005; 366:1751
   
   DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67706-9
   
   Fear of avian influenza is a double-edged sword
   “To fear the worst oft cures the worst.” So wrote William Shakespeare in his Homeric love story Troilus and Cressida. This sentiment must have been uppermost in the minds of the hundreds of officials who gathered in Geneva on Nov 7–9 as they acknowledged the risk to human health of pandemic influenza, and broached an unprecedented consensus on how best to prepare.
   
   Urgency marked the proceedings. A gloomy assurance by WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook that no society would be left unscathed by pandemic influenza confirmed H5N1's status as a global priority. International organisations spelled out a grim forecast of the “incalculable human misery” that could result from a pandemic, and warned of the ineffectiveness of current preparations. On controlling the disease in birds, delegates from countries struggling with outbreaks pleaded for help to finance urgent control efforts. And unaffected nations in the path of migrating birds described with resignation their ill-preparedness to fend off the approaching threat.
   
   In a demonstration of the singular spirit of cooperation nurtured by such fears, the conference ended with promises of action. Delegates pledged support to nations who need help developing preparedness plans; offered assistance in building surveillance capacity and responding to outbreaks in birds; promised to strengthen veterinary services and networks; and laid plans for accruing international drug stockpiles and advancing research into drug and vaccine production. A follow-up meeting at which these plans will be shored up with funds will be held in Beijing on Jan 17–18, 2006.
   
   The extent of the consensus buoyed the Geneva meeting's organisers, who are optimistic about the capabilities of donors and technical agencies to streamline assistance to needy countries. But whereas fear has certainly helped focus international preparations for a worst-case scenario, Shakespeare's axiom is not so fitting when applied to the anxieties of individuals. So with international cooperation now bolstering preparedness plans, it is time for governments to tackle the prospect of inevitable civil unrest.
   
   Even before a pandemic emerges, panic is a danger. The recent growth in momentum for action against avian influenza has been flanked by a rise in anxiety about the pandemic risk. These fears are perpetuated by politicians' misplaced instincts to withhold information instead of talking openly about the disease. And, worryingly, experience shows that widespread fear can lead to social and economic consequences as serious as the disease itself. In Thailand and China, for example, avian influenza has already damaged poultry sales and put these countries' residents off their food. Cambodia, one of the four countries to have confirmed human infections with H5N1, says a “psychosis” has gripped its population. And there have been numerous reports of individuals in rich countries—including doctors—stocking up on the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in an effort to protect themselves against future disease.
   
   Previous experience of outbreaks suggests that these examples are minor compared with what is likely to come. Intensified anxiety at the start of a pandemic could mean that people avoid travel, fear going to hospitals, or start riots in the streets. Patients will be stigmatised, and confidence in governments will be damaged or lost. But just as there is time to complete preparedness plans, there is still time to stem public anxiety. However, this can only be done by winning the public's trust—and for many governments, trust comes in short supply.
   
   It is true that public assurances are difficult to muster when uncertainties abound and available scientific information is incomplete. But if governments are to avert widespread panic they must admit to uncertainty, act transparently, issue guidance on disease protection, and make sure new information is disseminated to the public as quickly as possible. These actions can be thought of as preparedness measures in themselves: people who trust their leaders will be more likely to adhere to health advice when a pandemic emerges.
   
   Good communication also means responding to public concerns. And where public concern runs highest now is on the issue of limited drug stocks. Politicians are understandably fearful of public reactions to an admission that drug stocks are small and potentially inadequate. But this fear, a result of an over-reliance on pharmaceutical solutions to public-health threats, is misplaced. A WHO conference on outbreak communication concluded last year that information might be the only source of protection during a public-health emergency. Populations have a right to information that affects their lives—and without it, their worst fears are more likely to arise.
   www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/art...
5. harvester 19 november 2005 17:55

   auteur info

   • harvester

     Lid sinds: 01 apr 2004

     Laatste bezoek: 18 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 1961

     Gegeven: 1843

   •    Aantal posts: 4.026

   UPDATE 1-Viragen drug shows potential to fight bird flu
   Fri Nov 18, 2005 04:38 PM ET
   (Adds details, stock move)
   NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Viragen Inc. (VRA.A: Quote, Profile, Research) on Friday said preliminary in-vitro studies of its drug Multiferon showed that it was effective against the virus that causes avian flu, sending shares of the biotech company up more than 80 percent.
   
   The early-stage studies, conducted by the not-for-profit Southern Research Institute, showed that Multiferon was more active than other products against the H5N1 influenza virus.
   
   Viragen said it believes the drug, sold in 10 markets outside the United States for infectious diseases and cancer, may have "utility" against the virus, and that it is a prime candidate worthy of further evaluation.
   
   The company said it included the results to supplement a patent application it filed with the United Kingdom in February 2004 to cover the use of its product in treating and preventing avian flu in humans.
   
   Shares of the Plantation, Florida-based company rose 29 cents to close at 65 cents on the American Stock Exchange.
   
   © Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
   
   
6. [verwijderd] 19 november 2005 18:56

   auteur info

   • [verwijderd]

     Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

     Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 0

     Gegeven: 0

   •    Aantal posts: 0

   Nou weet ik niet zo veel over de verschillende in omloop zijn de medicameneten , maar de Multiferon suggereerd bij mij een combinatie van de diverse interferonen.
   Wat ik er van weet is heel erg weinig , maar weet wel dat deze producten peperduur zijn..... .
   Wellicht dat Crucell in staat zou zijn deze interferonen met hun technologische mogelijkheden goedkoper te produceren, maar het lijkt mij niet DE oplossing van het probleem.
   Leuk dat de firma een goede performance op de beurs gehad heeft, maar is IMHO niet de weg om birth flu aan te pakken.
   Maar nogmaals....... heb er te weinig zich op.
   
   Ian
7. [verwijderd] 19 november 2005 19:27

   auteur info

   • [verwijderd]

     Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

     Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 0

     Gegeven: 0

   •    Aantal posts: 0

   Flu found in Canadian farm duck
   
   Reuters
   
   Saturday, November 19, 2005
   
   VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Avian influenza has been found in a duck on a farm in southwestern British Columbia, but the bird appeared to pose little risk to public health, officials said on Friday.
   
   Officials were alerted to the duck on Thursday, and said initial testing indicated it was an H5-type avian influenza virus, but more testing was needed to identify the specific strain, said Dr. Jim Clark of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
   
   Health officials around the world have been on the watch for the H5N1 strain of the virus that experts fear may mutate just enough to allow it to be easily transmitted among humans. There are nine known N strains of H5 virus.
   
   www.dose.ca/vancouver/news/story.html...
   
   Giraf
   
8. [verwijderd] 19 november 2005 19:45

   auteur info

   • [verwijderd]

     Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

     Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 0

     Gegeven: 0

   •    Aantal posts: 0

   De aansprakelijkheid van de vaccin makers is een politieke HOT_ISSUE aan het worden in de USA. De kampen zijn verdeeld.
   Woordvoerder van Sanofi komt ook aan het woord in het Washington Post stuk :
   
   www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content...
   
   De wetgeving moet nog voor het eind van dit jaar rond zijn..... Zal moeilijk worden denk ik.
   
   Giraf
9. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 07:39

   auteur info

   • [verwijderd]

     Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

     Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 0

     Gegeven: 0

   •    Aantal posts: 0

   U.S. Unprepared for Super-Flu PandemicHealth and Human Services Secretary Leavitt Says U.S. Vaccine Supplies for Super-Flu Inadequate
   
   By HOPE YEN Associated Press Writer
   The Associated Press
   
   WASHINGTON Nov 20, 2005 — The U.S. is unprepared for the next flu pandemic, lacking the manufacturing capacity to provide 300 million doses of a vaccine for three to five more years, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said Sunday.
   
   "What we all learned from (Hurricane) Katrina is that sometimes we have to think very clearly about the unthinkable," Leavitt said. "We're not as prepared as we need to be. …We will not have enough for everyone."
   
   A strain of a bird flu that has killed 67 people in Asia has sparked concerns of a super-flu that could kill millions worldwide, and U.S. officials acknowledge that the strain in its current form could reach here through a migratory bird.
   
   While stressing that chances remain slight, health experts say it could lead to a global pandemic if the bird flu mutates to start spreading easily among people.
   
   "We can't put a number on how probable that's going to be," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the infectious disease division of the National Institutes of Health. "It's a low probability. When the consequences are unimaginable, you must assume the worst-case scenario."
   
   Added Dr. Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization: "This is certainly a dangerous virus, and it has crossed the species barrier now in 130 cases. We're probably closer to a pandemic at any time in the last 37 years."
   
   The U.S., which has not seen any signs of the strain in birds or people, has only enough doses now for 4.3 million people.
   
   President Bush has proposed stockpiling enough of the anti-flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza for 81 million people, a goal drug manufacturers believe they can reach by the middle of next year, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
   
   "We're not prepared for vaccination, that's why we need to scale up. We are doing studies to extend the value of the vaccine … allowing us to vaccinate more people with the same doses," so the timeframe might be quicker, she said.
   
   abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=13...
10. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 09:39

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    VS waarschuwen voor tekort aan vogelgriepvaccin
    
    Uitgegeven: 21 november 2005 07:38
    
    WASHINGTON - Bij een uitbraak van vogelgriep hebben de Verenigde Staten onvoldoende vaccins voor de bevolking. Het tekort is op zijn vroegst na drie tot vijf jaar weggewerkt.
    
    Deze waarschuwing uitte de Amerikaanse minister Leavitt van Volksgezondheid zondag. Hij reageerde op de Canadese bekendmaking dat in dat land bij trekvogels een variant van het vogelgriep was aangetroffen.
    
    Volgens Leavitt beschikken de VS op dit moment niet over de capaciteit om snel voldoende vaccins te kunnen produceren. Een hele bedrijfstak moet opnieuw worden opgebouwd, waarschuwde de minister op televisie. "We zijn er niet zo op voorbereid als we zouden moeten zijn", aldus Leavitt.
    
    Bron: nu.nl
11. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 10:14

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    Nieuwe haarden van vogelgriep in China
    ma 21/11/05 - In China zijn er opnieuw 2 haarden van vogelgriep vastgesteld. China heeft al een massale inentingscampagne achter de rug, maar toch blijven er geregeld nieuwe haarden opduiken.
    In het westen van het land zijn meer dan 3.000 kippen gestorven aan het virus. Een andere haard is ontdekt meer in het centrum van het land. Daar zijn ongeveer 7.000 dieren gestorven.
    
    In China zijn ook al twee mensen gestorven aan vogelgriep. Een derde geval wordt nog onderzocht.
    
    Indonesië meldt intussen ook nog een menselijk slachtoffer van de vogelgriep, een man van 35. De resultaten van het onderzoek moeten wel nog officieel bevestigd worden. Indonesië telt al zeven mensen die aan het virus gestorven zijn.
    
    link : www.vrtnieuws.net/nieuwsnet_master/ve...
12. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 10:14

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    
    21.11.05 9.20am
    
    
    TORONTO - Tests have confirmed a farm duck in British Columbia has a non-lethal, North American strain of avian influenza but health officials will still cull about 60,000 poultry as a preventive measure, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Sunday.
    
    "This morning test results ... confirmed that the H5 virus found in a domestic duck in British Columbia is the low pathogenic, North American strain," Cornelius Kiley, a CFIA veterinarian, said in a briefing on Sunday.
    
    "This confirmation means that we are looking at a virus capable of causing only mild disease, if any at all.
    
    "It also means that we are not dealing with the virus current in Asia and Europe," Kiley added. "This particular subtype is unique to this part of the world and we have previously seen it throughout North America."
    
    Kiley said while there is no immediate risk to domestic birds, the agency will proceed with a cull of about 60,000 ducks and geese on the infected duck's farm. In addition, the CFIA has also quarantined four other "high risk" farms and expects test results within days, he said.
    
    - REUTERS
    
13. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 13:03

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    DJ Taiwan Says Can Produce Key Ingredient For Bird Flu Drug
    
    11/21/2005
    Dow Jones News Services
    (Copyright © 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
    
    
    TAIPEI (AP)--A Taiwanese research firm said on Monday it has succeeded in making a key ingredient of the bird flu drug Tamiflu.
    
    The government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute said it has produced shikimic acid, using ingredients from three unidentified plants. Lee Chung-hsi, head of the institute, said the group is seeking a patent for the production process.
    
    The Swiss patent holder of Tamiflu, Roche Holding (RHHBY), has purchased the ingredient, shikimic acid, from China, and Taiwan has been negotiating with the company about licensing to manufacture a generic version of Tamiflu to combat a possible bird flu outbreak.
    
    Taiwanese Premier Frank Hsieh said last month production to supply 2.3 million people - 10% of the island's population - could begin in December and take about one month.
    
    Roche has said making Tamiflu involves a very complex process and that a company given a license to make a generic copy would need at least two to three years to ramp up production.
    
    
    
14. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 16:53

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    Akzo Nobel: vogelgriepvaccin wordt gratis geleverd
    Akzo Nobel levert vogelgriepvaccin aan Europese dierentuinen
    
15. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 19:25

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    “WHO believes the institute should produce vaccine on embryo chicken eggs, not monkey kidneys, said an official of the institute.
    
    *************************************************
    
    VN to produce 50mil doses of avian influenza vaccines
    15:48' 21/11/2005 (GMT+7)
    
    The Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and Science and Technology have agreed to produce 50mil doses of bird-flu vaccines.
    
    The Ministry of Science and Technology says that the vaccine to be produced is NIBRG-14, with H5N1 virus taken from Vietnamese patients, and then decoded and subdivided by HCM City Pasteur Institute. It is recognized for safety by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and around 50mil doses will be produced in the time to come. However, as production must obey a strict process, at least one year will be needed for production.
    
    Meanwhile, many provinces are in shortage of vaccine for their fowls. Deputy Head of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hoang Kim Giao said that the Ministry of Health plans to import an additional 260mil doses of bird flu vaccine this year based on the number of poultry nationwide. However, since many provinces do not have complete statistics of their poultry, the real number of vaccine may increases several times.
    
    Vietnam currently imports H5N1 vaccines for poultry from China and the Netherlands, however, many scientists have warned the Ministry of Health of careful selection when purchasing from China to avoid counterfeit products.
    
    To implement the vaccine production plan, the Ministry of Science and Technology will spend VND45bil (US$2.8mil) to build 40 P3 laboratories, and in conjunction with the Ministries of Health and Agriculture and Rural Development to research vaccines for poultry and humans.
    
    The Central Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute’s project to produce flu vaccine for humans has not been approved, although it has passed three assessment sessions of the Science Council.
    
    The WHO has not given written permission to produce and test the vaccine, reasoning human health safety as a priority.
    
    The institute says that it has conducted research into the vaccine for the past two years and has successfully tested on monkeys, however, according to WHO, the institute vaccine production method of growing the virus on monkey’s kidney cells is unsafe.
    
    Monkey kidney cells have a structure that is almost identical to human genes so testing in this way, could cause a virus mutation and spread the flu to the whole world. “WHO believes the institute should produce vaccine on embryo chicken eggs, not monkey kidneys, said an official of the institute.
    
    english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2005/11/51...
    
16. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 21:02

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    Agreement To Speed Up Development of Bird flu vaccine
    
    
    
    In a collective effort to combat the bird flu pandemic, international health ministers have struck an agreement to speed up the development and production of a pandemic bird flu vaccine.
    
    Ministers from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Italy, representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU) health commissioners - all members of the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) - met in Rome to discuss the global threat from a bird flu pandemic and agreed to share 'information and expertise' to fast-track development of a vaccine more quickly and production and will make sure supplies meet demand.
    
    www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main....
    
    
17. [verwijderd] 21 november 2005 21:12

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    Monday, November 21, 2005 4:57 AM ET
    
    JAKARTA (Reuters) - Local tests have shown a 35-year-old man has died in Indonesia of the H5N1 strain of bird flu but the results have to be confirmed by a laboratory in Hong Kong, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
    
    The ministry's director general of disease control, I. Nyoman Kandun, said it was unclear if the man had contact with dead chickens. He died a few days ago, he said.
    
    "We have sent the sample to Hong Kong for confirmation," Kandun told Reuters by telephone. "We have not yet determined how he got the disease."
    
    Indonesia has had seven deaths from bird flu confirmed by the World Health Organization-affiliated laboratory. There have been four positive cases where patients survived.
    
    The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain is endemic in poultry in parts of Asia, where it has killed more than 60 people.
    
    Experts fear H5N1 could mutate into a form that passes easily among people, just like human influenza. If it does, millions could die because they would have no immunity.
    
    Most human bird flu cases in Asia have been blamed on direct or indirect contact with infected chickens.
    
    
    
    
18. [verwijderd] 22 november 2005 07:20

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    Van Yahoo:
    
    300 human deaths in China
    by: tacoma_fx 11/21/05 10:38 pm
    Msg: 21542 of 21542
    
    "virologist Dr. Masato Tashiro, a Japanese WHO consultant, believed that China has had 300 human deaths from bird flu and is hiding the true extent of the disease from the rest of the world"
    
    www.iflu.org/?p=10457
    
19. [verwijderd] 22 november 2005 18:55

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    Crucell wordt weer genoemd
    
    Company Focus
    
    On the front lines of the flu fight
    
    
    Drug companies leading the battle against a deadly flu stand in the spotlight as the risk rises. Investors, though, will find the stocks have already run up.
    
    By Michael Brush
    
    News about the avian flu gets more chilling at every turn.
    
    Last week the deadly virus turned up in Turkey, Greece and Romania. Then came news from Vietnam that one of the drugs doctors hoped would slow the flu -- called Tamiflu -- might not work as well as expected.
    
    So far, though, the worst fears haven't been realized. Avian flu, which to date has killed about half of those who contract it, has not passed from human to human. To date, victims seem to get the virus from poultry.
    
    "The first time we observe Avian-flu infections unrelated to direct contact with birds or poultry, we should be damn nervous," says Jaap Goudsmit, the chief scientific officer at Crucell (CRXL, news, msgs), a Dutch company in vaccine research.
    
    If avian flu spreads rapidly among humans, the consequences for the economy could be huge. Governments might restrict travel. That would hurt already-troubled airlines. Officials may also limit public gatherings -- a bad thing for cruise operators or hotel chains that get a lot of business from conferences and related travel.
    
    For those investing vultures hoping to profit from all this bad avian-flu news, there's not much to do at this point. There are companies that stand to benefit from flu research and the stockpiling of medicines, but their stocks mostly reflect the potential benefits.
    
    And the profit potential itself may be overstated. For example, in a widespread outbreak, governments might commandeer patents and available drug supplies, cautions Jerome Pfund, who follows biotech stocks for Sectoral Asset Management in Montreal.
    
    Even so, I'll describe below what companies are in the mix, just in case the flu falls off the front pages and the stock prices fall back into a more reasonable range.
    
    moneycentral.msn.com/content/P132582.asp
    
20. [verwijderd] 22 november 2005 19:14

    auteur info

    • [verwijderd]

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 0001

      Laatste bezoek: 01 jan 0001

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 0

      Gegeven: 0

    •    Aantal posts: 0

    Die heer Michael Brush, is dat een Freudiaanse vermenging van Bush en Brus???
    
    :-))
    
    Dirk