May 5, 2006
Singapore - Singapore has been chosen as the storehouse supplying essential drugs if a human flu pandemic breaks out in Southeast Asia, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said in a published report Friday.
Plans are to store an estimated 500,000 Tamiflu treatments in the city-state for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The drugs could be flown to affected countries within 24 hours.
Under the stockpiling project, Singapore will also stockpile 700,000 sets of protective equipment for people who might be most at risk in the event of a pandemic, Dr Jai P. Narain, director of communicable diseases at the WHO regional office for Southeast Asia in New Delhi, told The Straits Times.
The stockpiling is part of a Japan-ASEAN initiative. 'Japan will spend 30 million US dollars to stockpile antivirals and equipment in Singapore for the use of ASEAN countries,' Narain was quoted as saying.
ASEAN groups Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma).
Current global production of antivirals comes to 300 million doses a year, far below the amount needed to combat a pandemic, Narain said.
'Also, 95 per cent of anti-viral production capacity is concentrated in five countries - the United States and four European countries,' Narain said.
While India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand can produce generic antiviral drugs, the availability of raw material is still an issue.
Narain, who was in Singapore for a medical forum organized by The Lancet journal, said it was imperative for different ministries to coordinate their responses to a pandemic.
'In many South Asian countries, the ministries of agriculture are much bigger than ministries of health,' he said. 'They do not necessarily work together, and that is a big problem.'
He told the newspaper that WHO, along with the Indian government, will organize a meeting next month to bring together ministers of health and agriculture from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar (Burma) and other developing Asian countries to discuss their preparedness plans.
Virus experts said a network is being established in Southeast Asia to conduct clinical studies of antiviral treatments like Tamiflu, the H5N1 bird flu virus and seven human influenzas.
The two-year study will involve 400 participants from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
Plans are to store an estimated 500,000 Tamiflu treatments in the city-state for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The drugs could be flown to affected countries within 24 hours.
Under the stockpiling project, Singapore will also stockpile 700,000 sets of protective equipment for people who might be most at risk in the event of a pandemic, Dr Jai P. Narain, director of communicable diseases at the WHO regional office for Southeast Asia in New Delhi, told The Straits Times.
The stockpiling is part of a Japan-ASEAN initiative. 'Japan will spend 30 million US dollars to stockpile antivirals and equipment in Singapore for the use of ASEAN countries,' Narain was quoted as saying.
ASEAN groups Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma).
Current global production of antivirals comes to 300 million doses a year, far below the amount needed to combat a pandemic, Narain said.
'Also, 95 per cent of anti-viral production capacity is concentrated in five countries - the United States and four European countries,' Narain said.
While India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand can produce generic antiviral drugs, the availability of raw material is still an issue.
Narain, who was in Singapore for a medical forum organized by The Lancet journal, said it was imperative for different ministries to coordinate their responses to a pandemic.
'In many South Asian countries, the ministries of agriculture are much bigger than ministries of health,' he said. 'They do not necessarily work together, and that is a big problem.'
He told the newspaper that WHO, along with the Indian government, will organize a meeting next month to bring together ministers of health and agriculture from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar (Burma) and other developing Asian countries to discuss their preparedness plans.
Virus experts said a network is being established in Southeast Asia to conduct clinical studies of antiviral treatments like Tamiflu, the H5N1 bird flu virus and seven human influenzas.
The two-year study will involve 400 participants from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
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