The National Epidemiology Institute has been given the go ahead for an experimental H5N1 vaccine, which the National Science Council has produced using experiments involving monkey kidneys, said an institute representative.

The Institute of Vaccines and Biological Substances (IVAC) announced that they too were near completion of an H5N1-type A vaccine for humans. Their products are currently undergoing testing at the National Institute.

Health Minister  Tran Thi Trung Chien (2,L) visits patient Phung Minh Phuong at Bach Mai Hospital

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highly valued the research work and has thus provided the institute with US $25, 000 for further experimental production of the vaccine, said a company representative.

Director of IVAC Le Van Hiep said that researchers have developed complete production procedures for the vaccine from fertilized hen eggs. Nine batches of the vaccine have so far met the lab’s requirements.

According to WHO, IVAC’s researchers were working in the right direction from the outset and it is one of many manufacturers worldwide that is currently being considered by the WHO for a US $2 million grant to continue research into a human H5N1 vaccine.

Concerning the risk of bird flu transmission to humans, Pham Ngoc Dinh, Vice Director of the National Epidemiology Institute, explained that avian influenza (bird flu) is a disease in birds that is caused by influenza viruses, which are closely related to the human flu virus.

People are being advised to receive inoculations against standard human flu as this may offer some protection against avian flu from transforming, which is most likely to occur if a human becomes simultaneously infected with both ‘bird flu’ and ‘human flu’.

Research is currently being carried out in order to develop a new vaccine against H5N1 in humans, thus preventing bird flu from transforming into a highly dangerous form that may one day be able to pass from human to human, thus causing a global pandemic.

Although bird flu has normally only been seen during the winter seasons, it has been explained that bird flu is still present during the dry season “…because H5N1 virus still exists in the air”, said Mr. Dinh.

Currently, the institute receives over 10 samples every day from the local hospitals for testing; however, until now only two patients have been confirmed to have contracted the deadly virus.