UPDATE 1-US govt, Novartis in $486 mln flu vaccine deal

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ZURICH Jan 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has awarded Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) a contract worth up to $486 million over eight years to build a plant to manufacture influenza vaccine for use in case of a pandemic, the Swiss drugmaker said.

The plant -- in Holly Springs, North Carolina -- will have the capacity to make 150 million doses of vaccine within six months of an influenza pandemic being declared, Novartis said in a statement on Thursday.

The company anticipates the site will provide some 300 jobs and will also be able to produce cell-based seasonal flu vaccine and pre-pandemic vaccine.

No one knows when the next influenza pandemic will strike but experts are worried about the H5N1 avian influenza virus sweeping through poultry in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It rarely infects humans, but has killed 248 out of 394 people infected since 2003 and could mutate into a form more infectious to humans. (Reporting by Sam Cage; Editing by David Cowell)