April 12, 2006

Russia to develop oral bird flu vaccine

Russia will soon start development of the country's first orally administered vaccine against the bird flu virus, the head of a veterinary institute said Tuesday (Apr 11).

One unique advantage an orally administered vaccine offers is the possibility of immunizing birds by mixing the drug with fodder and drinking water, Eduard Dzhavadov, a scientist at the institute said.

This would reduce expenses and time necessary to vaccinate birds. An intramuscular vaccine injection to one bird takes an average of 30 seconds. Usage of the orally administered vaccine would allow thousands of birds to be vaccinated simultaneously, he said.

The first vaccine is likely to be marketed in a year.

Russia was hit by its first H5N1 outbreak last summer. Hundreds of thousands of poultry in the country's eastern and southern provinces have been killed or culled since then.