re: stockpiling in france next? Article on the French plan - is...

re: stockpiling in france next? Article on the French plan - is this the next Relenza Order?

Article from http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=cp_health_home&articleID=2017502

Tuesday, Aug 30, 2005
France plans to boost protection against possible bird flu outbreak

PARIS (AP) - France will increase its stocks of medicine, vaccinations and protective masks amid concerns about a potential outbreak of bird flu in Europe and a possible resulting human pandemic, the prime minister's office said Tuesday.
The government said it would modify contracts it holds with two companies for vaccinations against a possible human pandemic flu strain that could evolve from bird flu "to ensure vaccinations for the whole population," according to a statement issued after a ministerial meeting.

The government said that, in the meantime, it would increase reserves of anti-viral medicines in case any French people were exposed to the deadly disease strain before vaccinations were ready.

While humans can catch the bird flu strain H5N1, now circulating in Asia and discovered in parts of Siberian Russia, the strain cannot be easily transmitted between people. Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, and spark a deadly pandemic.

Vaccines, however, can only be made once the virus has mutated into a form that would be dangerous to humans. Before a vaccine is developed, anti-flu drugs are considered a key defence to reduce both the spread of the virus and the severity of disease in those who contract it.

The French government also decided to increase its stocks of protective masks from 50 million to 200 million by the beginning of next year. Health checks will be reinforced in large international airports, the statement said.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin urged the government to launch a public information campaign Sept. 15, and to finish a plan adopted last year to fight flu epidemics.
France is at a low immediate risk of bird flu contamination, the country's National Food Safety Agency said recently.

But European Union experts warned Thursday they had "serious concern" that the H5N1 outbreak in eastern Russia could spread across the Ural Mountains to birds in Europe. The European Commission called on the 25 member states to increase surveillance.

In Russia, the outbreak has killed about 11,000 birds, and prompted the slaughter of 127,000 others to halt the virus' spread. No human cases have been registered in Russia, although the disease has killed 61 people, mostly poultry workers, in Asia since late 2003.

© The Canadian Press, 2005