Bird Flu Vaccines Produced Locally
PAKISTAN - Three types of strains (H5, H7 and H9) exist in the country. However, H5 and H7 are considered highly pathogenic. The Sindh Poultry Vaccine Centre is producing vaccines against these strains, which are isolated from local poultry farm, said its executive director Dr Shafqat Fatima Rehman.
10 March 2008
2 minute read
The News, a news agency in Pakistan, reports that she said the vaccination was approved by the Pakistan Poultry Association while a monitoring programme was essential to protect against the outbreak of avian influenza.
The centre is producing around 20 million doses per annum but this quantity can be increased on demand, she added.
To a question, she said the psyche of the people was that they preferred imported items over local products. However, she stressed on the need to strengthen and upgrade the existing facilities to improve the standard of production facilities of GMP level. She hoped that this would discourage the import of poultry vaccine from abroad. Moreover, she believes that vaccination is not the cure but a preventive measure.
