H1N1 vaccine efforts give 'promising' yield

Local efforts to produce a vaccine for the type-A (H1N1) flu are showing promise, the chairman of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation says.

The yield rate of vaccine viruses grown from the latest batch of imported eggs was encouraging, Vichai Chokewiwat said yesterday.

The amount of viruses grown from the second batch of eggs, imported from Germany, was higher than with the first lot, which fell below expectations and delayed the production timeline.

"We have retrieved 10 billion vaccine viruses per cubic centimetre of liquid from the second batch of eggs, which is good news and enables us to press on with our plans for a clinical trial on humans," he said.

GPO would use the second lot of vaccine viruses for the clinical trial, on Sept 21.

The low vaccine virus yield released in mid-August delayed the clinical trial from the scheduled date of Sept 4.

Mahidol University's faculty of tropical science would conduct the first clinical trial on 24 volunteers aged 18-49 years.

Of the total, six people would receive a placebo. The others would receive a second vaccine shot 21 days after the first flu jab.

If tests over the first 28 days did not raise any safety concerns, researchers would begin vaccine trials with a larger group of 400 volunteers, in line with a GPO proposal approved by the Health System Research Institute's clinical trial committee.

Dr Vichai said overseas producers could not supply enough pathogen-free eggs for local vaccine research and development.

GPO was working with local producers - Betagro, Charoen Pokphand and Saha Farm - to improve the quality of their eggs.

The Public Health Ministry yesterday confirmed 11 new deaths from the flu, taking the country's death toll to 130.

Of the victims who have died since April 28, 70% were aged from 31-40, categorised as a risk group, said Paijit Varachit, deputy permanent secretary for public health.

Outbreaks in Bangkok and adjacent provinces had gradually decreased but the virus was still spreading in other provinces, particularly in rural areas in the Northeast and the North. The number of patients infected with the H1N1 virus in northeastern and northern provinces now amounted to two-thirds of total reported cases, Dr Paijit said.

However, the number of patients infected with all kinds of flu virus, who have been treated at hospitals nationwide, had fallen from 18,000 patients a day in July, to 9,000 by last month.