Hungary wants to produce bird flu vaccine in Philippines: report

Hungary wants to cooperate with the Philippines in producing a bird flu vaccine developed by the Hungarian Health Department, said the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in its latest website posting.

The report quoted Philippine Ambassador to Budapest Alejandro del Rosario as saying that Hungarian Ministry of Health officials have suggested the possibility of building a plant in the Philippines for the production of the bird flu vaccine.

Rosario arranged a meeting with Hungarian Health Ministry's Chief Medical Officer Lazlo Bujdoso and Virologist Istvan Jankovics to strengthen Philippine preparedness against pandemics through bilateral cooperation.

Hungarian health authorities said Hungary is exploring cooperation in vaccine production with the Philippines since Hungary itself could only produce enough vaccine for domestic consumption.

Hungarian health authorities also expressed willingness to travel to the Philippines to share their expertise in bird flu vaccine development and production, as well as to oversee the construction of a production facility, said the report.

Hungarian health authorities also welcomed Filipino scientists to visit Hungary to observe current Hungarian efforts in producing and developing the bird flu vaccine.

Hungarian authorities said that initial human tests proved promising on the vaccine, which is applicable for the deadly H5N1 form of the virus.

Hungarian health authorities, however, cautioned that the vaccine they developed would be effective only for the present strain of the bird flu virus and emphasized that it may not be advisable to stockpile more than a year's supply of the vaccine.

The bird flu vaccine had been tested on 100 volunteers, said Hungarian officials, who said the country has been producing various flu vaccines for several decades.

The country currently produces Amantadint, which is reportedly as effective as Roche's anti-flu drug Tamiflu. Both drugs are not classified as vaccines but are used as treatment of patients afflicted with the bird flu virus.

Source: Xinhua