March 23, 2006

Russia bans bird flu vaccine imports

Russia's Agriculture Ministry and the food quality watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor have banned all imports and use of bird flu vaccine to support national vaccine manufacturers, the ministry said.

Rosselkhoznadzor's head Sergey Dankvert is quoted as saying that Russia would be producing 100 million doses of bird flu vaccine a month by the end of this year.

Dankvert said vaccine output in March would be 34 million doses, increasing to 42 million in April and 70 million in May.

Twenty million doses have already been dispatched to Russia's southern regions, where bird flu is currently present in 40 locations.