July 12, 2006

UK to buy 10 million doses of bird flu vaccine

A further 10 million doses of bird flu vaccine for potential use in poultry and other captive birds will be bought by the UK government, the BBC reports on its website Tuesday (Jul 11).

Agriculture Minister Ben Bradshaw told lawmakers the government still believed vaccines were not the most effective protection against an outbreak. But he said the move was a precaution to ensure the country had "every tool available" to tackle an outbreak.

Earlier this year 2.3 million doses were bought for zoo birds.

Bradshaw said the precaution was being taken on the advice of the country's most senior veterinarians. But he said their advice remained that poultry should not be vaccinated before an outbreak because of "limitations of the vaccines currently available".

He said in a statement: "These vaccines are not the most effective defense against bird flu. A high standard of biosecurity, separation of poultry from wild birds and careful surveillance for signs of disease are the most effective means of protection."

The 10 million new doses, which will cover both H5 and H7 strains of the disease, will not be available to the public for general use.