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Premier calls for larger reserves of flu vaccines in Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

2009/04/30 16:38:29

By Deborah Kuo

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) Premier Liu Chao-shiuan on Thursday urged biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Taiwan, which are capable of producing human vaccines, to begin developing a vaccine against swine flu as soon as possible.

Liu advised the companies to quickly acquire samples of the A/H1N1 swine flu virus strain from the United States so they can produce a swine flu vaccine locally, to help Taiwan acquire enough reserves to keep at bay the virus that emerged in Mexico last week.

"The government will purchase these newly-developed swine flu vaccines at reasonable prices, " Liu said while presiding over an emergency meeting at the A/H1N1 Flu Central Command Center.

The command center was set up by the Cabinet-level Department of Health (DOH) Tuesday in a bid to prevent a possible swine flu outbreak in Taiwan, as the virus continues to spread around the world.

Liu stressed that the country has enough reserves of medical supplies to fight a potential swine flu pandemic, but he warned individuals against attempting to hoard supplies.

"The administration will not be lenient toward those who hoard or seize the opportunity to make a fortune," he noted.

Meanwhile, Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan said that one-eighth of the swine flu is not detectable.

He said that during the eight-day period of contagion of swine flu, the virus is not detectable in one of the eight days, meaning that one-eighth of the virus cannot be monitored.

Since only seven-eighths of the virus can be detected, Yeh called for full cooperation from the public to ensure adequate monitoring of any possible swine flu epidemic in Taiwan.

Yeh, convened the emergency meeting of the A/H1N1 Flu Central Command Center after the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its influenza pandemic alert for swine flu to phase 5, from phase 4, earlier in the day, indicating that there is sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus.

As of Thursday, 148 cases of swine flu infection have been reported in nine countries in the world, according to Yeh.

Nine suspected cases were reported in Taiwan over the past two days, with five of them having been ruled out as swine flu and four others still being checked.

The virus so far is known to only spread from human to human, not animal to human. Victims suffer flu-like symptoms, including fever and coughing.