April 28, 2009

ASEAN distributes 500,000 courses of flu antivirals to members

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Monday (April 27) has distributed 500,000 courses of flu antivirals to its 10 member states and asked frequent updates after a suspected swine flu outbreak spread from Mexico across the globe.

ASEAN said it has another 500,000 antiviral courses kept in Singapore.

"ASEAN member states are better prepared now following the experience from recent SARS and avian influenza outbreaks," the bloc said in a statement. "ASEAN has the existing mechanisms and networks for strengthening preparedness and response to a possible pandemic."

ASEAN groups Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar - with a collective population of around 600 million.