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MOSCOW, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Russia has developed three special vaccines
against bird flu and will test them on human body soon, Health and Social
Development Minister Mikhail Zurabov said on Wednesday.
The vaccines are based on the H5N1 strain, which may be dangerous for people, and can be
used for making necessary vaccinewithin five weeks, the Itar-Tass news agency
reported.
According to Zurabov, the vaccines had passed pre-clinical tests. The
ministry's ethics committee decided to clinically test them on volunteers last
week.
Russia makes up to eight million doses of vaccine against bird flu every
month. In case of a pandemic, it will be necessary to vaccinate 20-30 percent of
the population, Zurabov said.
"The source of a bird flu pandemic will be outside Russia," theminister
said, adding that Russia will need four to five months toprepare necessary
vaccine and build stocks of antiviral medicines.
"If the threat of a pandemic arises, the state will act adequately and
concretely," he said.
According to the World Health Organization, over 100 cases of bird flu
among people have been registered in the past three years.Most of these people
died. Enditem
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