May 11, 2007

Recalled bird flu vaccines in Vietnam proved to be costly

Just when all provinces and cities have received H5N9 vaccine for their ducks, the vaccine importer has suddenly recalled the immunisation and ordered a stop to use the medicine. 

The importer, Central Veterinary Drug Company (Navetco) sent a sudden notice to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to halt the use and distribution of Italian-produced H5N9 vaccine because it was "problematic". This means that the nine million doses of vaccine worth nearly VND10 billion (US$625,000) of State money may be wasted.

According to Navetco, there are some contents in the medicine that can affect the effectiveness of the vaccine and quality tests are necessary.

Dinh Van The, Chief of the Veterinary Bureau of the southern province of Long An, said that as of February 2007, Long An began to vaccinate ducks, and 15,000 heads had been vaccinated before the dispatch was received.

Long An currently has around 120,000 ducks that need vaccinations and has 185,000 doses of vaccine in stock because of the recall. 

The country has more than 2 million ducks that need immunisations, according to the Veterinary Department while figures from the Statistics Department  says 3.2 million ducks still need the H5N9 vaccine.

The said the vaccine was enclosed in big jars which contains up to 1,000 doses per container. Such a big jar is only suitable for big establishments as it can only be used once after it has been opened. As such, districts with several hundred ducks from different communities cannot be accommodated.

Dong Thap province in January 2007 received 65,000 doses of vaccine from Navetco but in fact only 37,692 doses were used. According to an expert, perhaps the fact that the vaccine is contained in such big jars is the reason for the strange symptoms of the vaccine.