U.S. shipping Tamiflu stockpile to Asia, health secretary says

[Snowy Owl]

U.S. shipping Tamiflu stockpile to Asia, health secretary says

http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article...39121101538406

May 22, 2006 8:15 AM


GENEVA (AP) - The United States is sending a stockpile of the antiviral drug Tamiflu to Asia as a first defense against a possible flu pandemic, Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt said Monday.
Leavitt said Washington has shipped treatment courses of Tamiflu to a secure location in an unidentified Asian country.


The drug, produced by the Swiss-based Roche Holding AG, is regarded as the best initial defense against a pandemic resulting from a possible mutation of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus into a strain easily passed between people.


''It is a stockpile that would belong to the United States and we would control its deployment,'' Leavitt said in Geneva, where he was attending the World Health Assembly, the annual meeting of the U.N. health agency's 192 members.


He declined to say how much of the drug had been sent but said the shipment would arrive later this week.


The medicine will be used to support international containment efforts in the event of a human pandemic, but the United States could redirect the stocks for domestic use should it become clear that containment overseas was not feasible.


Leavitt said the U.S. maintained its long-term goal of stockpiling enough Tamiflu to treat 25 percent of the U.S. population as part of its pandemic preparedness plan. He said the U.S. would have 26 million treatment courses by December, and the necessary 75 million by the end of 2007.

[hawkeye]

In GENEVA story headlined "U.S. says has sent Tamiflu stockpile to Asia" please read in paragraph two ...how much of the medicine... instead of ...how much of the vaccine... Please also change "vaccine" to "drug" in paragraph 9. (Corrects to show Tamiflu is not a vaccine).

U.S. says has sent Tamiflu stockpile to Asia
GENEVA, May 22 (Reuters) - The United States has sent a supply of Tamiflu to Asia to help the region prepare for a human outbreak of avian influenza, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said on Monday.

Leavitt did not say how much of the medicine -- recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a frontline treatment against a pandemic flu outbreak -- was sent, or where it would be stored.

"The United States government has just deployed treatment courses of Tamiflu to a secure location in Asia. The shipment is currently in transit and it will arrive later this week," he told journalists during the WHO's annual assembly in Geneva.

"I am not going to specify the amount or the location, but I want to make clear that we are beginning to deploy it," he said.

More than 100 people have died -- most of them in Asia -- from the H5N1 strain of avian flu, which mainly affects birds.

Experts believe the strain poses the greatest threat in recent years of a global flu pandemic if it acquires the ability to pass easily between humans.

Leavitt said Washington has pledged $334 million to help countries worldwide prepare for and respond to human outbreaks of bird flu. He did not specify how the funds would be spent.

He said Washington should meet its goal of collecting Tamiflu supplies for 25 percent of the U.S. population, equal to about 75 million courses, by the end of next year.

About 26 million courses of the drug made by Swiss-based Roche would be gathered by the end of 2006, he said.

"It is a stockpile that would belong to the United States and we would control its deployment," he said.

Readiness for a flu pandemic is high on the agenda of the WHO's yearly assembly, which started on Monday on a sombre note after the sudden death of WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook.

Another issue at the six-day meeting will be whether or when the world's last known supplies of the smallpox virus should be destroyed.

While some fear keeping the stockpile raises the risk of a new outbreak, the United States has argued continued research on the samples could save lives should the virus re-emerge -- whether naturally or in the form of biological terrorism.

The highly contagious and deadly scourge was eradicated in 1979, and remaining samples of smallpox have since been kept in two high-security laboratories in the United States and Russia.

Leavitt said the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control, an arm of Health and Human Services based in Atlanta, were using the virus to develop improved ways to respond to any re-emergence.

"We believe that there is an important scientific reason for that virus to continue to be studied and developed," he said.

[hawkeye]

American Tamiflu Stocks Sent To Unnamed Asian Country
Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu News
Article Date: 22 May 2006 - 9:00am (PDT)

Mike Leavitt, US Health and Human Services Secretary, says US stocks of Tamiflu are being sent to a safe location in some unnamed Asian country. He said this move is to help the first line of defence in case a flu pandemic breaks out...

[MHSC]

American Tamiflu Stocks Sent To Unnamed Asian Country

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu News
Article Date: 22 May 2006 - 9:00am (PDT)

Mike Leavitt, US Health and Human Services Secretary, says US stocks of Tamiflu are being sent to a safe location in some unnamed Asian country. He said this move is to help the first line of defence in case a flu pandemic breaks out.

Many wonder why this sudden move was announced. Why is the country unnamed? Last week it was announced that 7 members of the same family in Indonesia were infected with the H5N1 bird flu strain - six of them died. The World Health Organization said it was unlikely that such a large cluster of human infections was due to human-to-human transmission. However, nobody seems to be able to locate the source of infection.

If a bunch of people get infected and authorities cannot find any birds as the source, it is not illogical to wonder whether these people may have infected each other. When the WHO says this is unlikely, but cannot offer any other explanation regarding the source of infection, people wonder.

Mike Leavitt said the Tamiflu stocks that are being moved from the USA to Asia would belong to the USA - America would control its deployment. We are told the shipment will arrive at the Asian country later this week. We don't know how many Tamiflu doses were sent.

These Tamiflu stocks will help support international containment efforts in case a flu pandemic breaks out in Asia. Mike Leavitt added that the stocks could be sent back to the USA if needed.

Mike Leavitt said the USA will have enough Tamiflu to treat one quarter of the US population in the event of a flu pandemic. However, his figures are based on some hopeful suppositions. By the end of this year the USA will have 26 million treatment courses - less than 10% of the population. By the end of 2007 it will have 75 million treatment courses - 25% of the population. As long as the pandemic does not hit before the end of 2007, in about one year-and-a-half, his supposition will be accurate. However, if it hits before that, he will be short. The USA has a population of about 290 million.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today

[HenryN]

Coomentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05...iflu_Asia.html

[Sally Furniss]

May 23, 2006 - 10:09AM
The United States has sent a supply of Tamiflu to Asia to help the region prepare for a human outbreak of avian influenza, US Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt says.

Leavitt did not say how much of the medicine - recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a frontline treatment against a pandemic flu outbreak - was sent, or where it would be stored.

"The United States government has just deployed treatment courses of Tamiflu to a secure location in Asia. The shipment is currently in transit and it will arrive later this week," he told journalists during the WHO's annual assembly in Geneva.

"I am not going to specify the amount or the location, but I want to make clear that we are beginning to deploy it," he said.

More than 100 people have died - most of them in Asia - from the H5N1 strain of avian flu, which mainly affects birds.

Experts believe the strain poses the greatest threat in recent years of a global flu pandemic if it acquires the ability to pass easily between humans.

Leavitt said Washington has pledged $US334 million ($A444 million) to help countries worldwide prepare for and respond to human outbreaks of bird flu. He did not specify how the funds would be spent.

He said Washington should meet its goal of collecting Tamiflu supplies for 25 per cent of the US population, equal to about 75 million courses, by the end of next year.

About 26 million courses of the drug made by Swiss-based Roche would be gathered by the end of 2006, he said.

"It is a stockpile that would belong to the United States and we would control its deployment," he said.

Readiness for a flu pandemic is high on the agenda of the WHO's yearly assembly, which started on Monday on a sombre note after the sudden death of WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook.

Another issue at the six-day meeting will be whether or when the world's last known supplies of the smallpox virus should be destroyed.

While some fear keeping the stockpile raises the risk of a new outbreak, the United States has argued continued research on the samples could save lives should the virus re-emerge - whether naturally or in the form of biological terrorism.

The highly contagious and deadly scourge was eradicated in 1979, and remaining samples of smallpox have since been kept in two high-security laboratories in the United States and Russia.

Leavitt said the US-based Centres for Disease Control, an arm of Health and Human Services based in Atlanta, were using the virus to develop improved ways to respond to any re-emergence.

"We believe that there is an important scientific reason for that virus to continue to be studied and developed," he said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/US-...150224202.html