Developing countries get help with birdflu vaccine

GENEVA (Reuters) - Six developing countries, including Indonesia, which has the highest human death toll from bird flu, will get help in making vaccines against the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The United Nations health agency said Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam would receive up to $2.5 million from donations made by the United States and Japan.

The aim was both to speed the development of new vaccine manufacturing capacity around the world, which is currently far below levels needed to protect the planet's 6 billion people, and to ease developing country concerns that they might not have rapid access in the event of a bird flu pandemic.

"Global public health security can only be realized if developing countries are assisted in developing the capabilities to access pandemic vaccines and protect their populations," said David Heymann, assistant WHO director-general for communicable diseases, in a statement.

Earlier this year Indonesia stopped sharing with the WHO virus strains, which are needed for the development of vaccines, because it said there was no guarantee it would have access to any vaccine subsequently produced by big drugs companies.

It later agreed to a resumption after striking a deal with the WHO to restrict drug company access to the types of H5N1 virus found in Indonesia, where bird flu has killed 74 people.

Vietnam has the world's second highest death toll with 42, followed by Thailand with 17. Worldwide the toll stands at over 180 out of more than 300 recorded human cases since 2003.

Avian flu mainly affects wild birds and poultry, but experts fear that if it mutates into a form more easily passed between people, it could sweep the world, killing millions.