December 26, 2006

Vietnam decodes bird flu virus genes

Vietnam has successfully decoded genes of H5N1, paving the way for production of vaccines used in humans, local media reported Monday, Dec 25.

Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute announced decodeding genes of 24 samples of the virus, which killed fowls and people in the country's southern region during the 2004-2005 period, reported "Tuoi Tre" newspaper.

Based on the decoding, the institute was facilitating the production of human H5N1 vaccines.

The vaccines yielded good results after being tested on white mice, guinea pigs and cockerels, the institute said.

Vietnam has detected 93 bird flu patients, including 42 fatalities, since the disease hit the country in December 2003.