The US-based international drug maker Baxer would send its staff to Indonesia on Thursday to discuss with the government and domestic drug makers about the plan to jointly produce anti-bird flu vaccine in the country, Health Minister Siti Fadilah said Tuesday.

"On December 15 Baxter will come to Indonesia. I hope that we can produce the vaccine by ourselves," she told reporters.

Fadilah said that Indonesia may produce the vaccine in November next year. However, she said that the problem now was with the capabilities of local companies.

"There are a little problems. Many companies here still do not have capabilities to produce the vaccine in accordance with the international standard," she said.

On the same occasion, Regional Director of the World Health Organization for Southeast Asia Samlee Plianbangchang said that the Southeast Asian countries must prepare vaccine to prevent the H5N1 virus from spreading.

Over 60 people have died from the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain in Asia with nine in Indonesia.

Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily among humans, just like human influenza. If it does, millions could die because they would have no immunity.

Source: Xinhua