Vietnam to test bird flu vaccine on humans - VIETNAM - Vietnam, in the next two months, is likely to vaccinate volunteers against bird flu virus strain H5N1 to test effectiveness of the vaccine it has developed.

The National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology has asked the Ministry of Trade to allow bird flu vaccination experiment on a group of 10-20 local volunteers and then on 200-300 people who live in areas once hit by the disease, according to sources from the institute in capital Hanoi Monday.

The experiment is expected to last from August to December, the sources said, noting that the bird flu vaccine developed by the institute has been proved effective on mice, monkeys and chickens.

Vietnam's Preventive Medicine Department last week confirmed that 52 local people from 21 cities and provinces were infected with H5N1 between mid-December 2004 and late May 2005, of whom 18 died.

Since bird flu started to hit Vietnam in December 2003, the country has detected a total of 79 human cases of infections in 28 cities and provinces, including 38 fatalities, the department said.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - 14th June 2005