WHO said major vaccine manufacturers increased the production for flu vaccines to almost 4.5 Billion doses every year as the bird flu has already claimed many people’s lives around the world.
WHO (World Health Organization) said on October 23, 2007, that by 2010, the latest advances made in science should be able to increase the capacity of production of vaccines for pandemic flu to around 4.5 Billion doses per year. IOL published this news.
The seasonal flu catches around 3-5 Million people per year, and causes 250,000 to 500,000 deaths, particularly amongst the elder people and chronically ill people, as per WHO.
WHO's Director of Initiative for Vaccine Research, Marie-Paule Kieny, said, “With influenza vaccine production capacity on the rise, we are beginning to be in a much better position vis-a-vis the threat of an influenza pandemic”, as published by IOL.
Marie-Paule Kieny also said that the pharmaceutical manufacturers like GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Sanofi-Pasteur increased the production of vaccines for trivalent seasonal flu from 350 Million in the previous year (2006) to 565 Million.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDC) also revealed that around 132 Million doses (estimated figure) for 2008 have already been sent to doctors, health clinics as well as other outlets. In past year, around 120 Million doses were made. The Marketwatch published this news.
CDC also recommended the vaccine for around 218 Million people in America - for pregnant women, people above 50, six months to five year old children, and chronically ill people.
The main reason for predicting increased production of vaccines for flu is H5N1 virus that causes bird flu. It has already killed many birds and claimed the lives of over 200 people in close contact with infected birds. Health researchers fear that if the virus mutates and spread from one person to another, it could kill innumerable number of people, resulting into a pandemic. So the vaccine manufacturers were asked to increase flu vaccines’ production to solve the problem at the earliest.
A Senior Research Analyst at RNCOS said, “WHO is standing up to its reputation as a responsible health organization. This dangerous bird flu has awakened many organizations from slumber. The flu vaccines’ increased production would be very helpful in curing the infected people. And with the steps taken up by the organizations, the flu would definitely be controlled”.
Related Market Research Reports:
Global Vaccine Market Outlook (2007-2010)
Opportunities in Indian Healthcare Sector
Asia Pacific Biotechnology Market (2007-2010)
