Russia is prepared to join hands with Southeast Asian countries to produce a bird flu vaccine, ANTARA reported. "Our goal is to demonstrate the standards of vaccine production in Russia and analyze possibilities of cooperation with local producers," said Alexei Kupriyanov, deputy director general of the Microgen Corporation at Russia's Health Ministry, at the Sixth International Bird Flu Summit held in Bali. "Microgen unites 14 producers of biological substances in several Russian regions and is the leader on the Russian market," he said. "It now produces as many as 40 million doses of flu vaccine per season, including 25 million under the presidential health project." "Given such facilities, it is easy for us to change production to combat a new strain," Kupriyanov was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying. "Russia has maintained its superior position in the production of vaccines during the past 15 years," said Igor Krasilnikov, head of research and development at Microgen. "We produce all the vaccines required for the country, which is part of biological security, and have preserved our scientific potential, which was a challenging task." He mentioned that Microgen mainly produces vaccines, including for bird flu. "We have developed two such vaccines," Krasilnikov said. "One of them is being registered, and the other is undergoing trials." One of these is a live vaccine, which means that it could be especially effective in Southeast Asia. It is applied only once through the nose, with a high probability of being effective against different bird flu strains. "We have signed a special agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) on moving the production of these vaccines to the countries that need them the most, such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand," Krasilnikov said. "At the summit, we represent the company that also produces childhood vaccines and vaccines that have proved effective during flu pandemics in simulated conditions," he said. "This is crucial for Southeast Asia and would be beneficial for the Russian economy, because we also represent Russian producers at the summit in Bali." It takes a local producer or good ties with one to quickly start production in case of a pandemic, say Russian specialists. According to them, the current task is to produce the so-called pre-pandemic vaccines, and summit participants will discuss their necessary forms. "People are already dying of bird flu, although the virus is not spreading as rapidly now as during a pandemic," Krasilnikov said. "Our vaccine can be used to control the existing strains." "If we produce the vaccine in sufficient amounts, we will have the ability to quickly determine which strain is developing at a speed that can spark a pandemic and start producing a vaccine against it," the scientist said. "Russia has a major edge in this sphere because it is producing a live vaccine." Since 2005, when the H5N1 virus hit Indonesia, it has infected 129 people, 105 of whom have died. This is nearly half of the world's total death toll of 236, according to the latest WHO data.
