Chikungunya fever could have a huge impact on regional trade and tourism if it is not stopped, a World Health Organisation expert warns.
Steven Bjorge, technical officer of malaria and vector-borne diseases at WHO's Southeast Asia Regional Office, told a technical meeting on the virus there was a hypothetical risk not just to public health but also to regional tourism and the economic sector.
"Chikungunya, in fact, is considered a minor health problem and less important because of the low mortality rate," he said."It should be regarded as being equally as disastrous as dengue.
"There is an increasing frequency of outbreaks now and more to be expected in the future."
Scientists and researchers from WHO and countries reporting outbreaks of the infectious disease, such as India,Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, held a three-day discussion to review the situ-ation and seek new strategies to combat the spread of the disease.
Asia is the epicentre of the reemergence of the disease with climate,environment and rapid global transport being conducive to its transmission.Outbreaks have been reported in India,Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka but no substantial statistics of infections have been reported to WHO.
In Thailand, Chikungunya has spread to 51 provinces, particularly in the South,since January.An estimated 38,275 people have been infected with the disease.The southern province of Narathiwat reported the highest number of infections at 7,780. No deaths have been reported,the Public Health Ministry said.
Mr Bjorge said the re-emergence of the disease in rural areas after a long absence had raised questions among experts on vector-borne diseases as to whether it had mutated and developed into a more dangerous strain.
The virus is related to East, Central and South African strains that emerged in the Indian Ocean region in 2005 and spreads more easily and rapidly than the Asian viral strain which previously was dormant in the region.
Experts in vector-borne diseases believed climate change might affect the life cycle of mosquitoes, enabling them to produce a minimum infective dose of dengue or Chikungunya viruses faster than before. Chikungunya is not life threatening and occurs among adults more than children, unlike dengue fever.However patients might experience persistent joint and muscle pain for up to a year or more which can affect their way of life since there is no specific drug treatment or vaccines available.
Prapon Tungsrikertikul, deputy chief of the Disease Control Department, said provincial staff and health volunteers had been sent to southern provinces to spray rubber plantations with chemicals that kill urban and garden-striped mosquitoes and larvae in water sources and rubber plants, which are regarded as ideal breeding grounds.
Friday, August 28, 2009
GPO cooks up first batch of flu vaccine
Researchers have produced the first local batch of vaccines for use against influenza type-A (H1N1).
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, which is making the vaccine, is now looking for a new academic partner to step up production ahead of the second wave of infections expected in December.
GPO managing director Witit Artavatkun yesterday said 1,270 vials, each containing 0.7ml of the vaccine, were labelled and stored in a temperaturecontrolled room awaiting sterilisation tests. The process would take two weeks.
Mahidol University's faculty of veterinary science is preparing for further tests on animals before moving on to a clinical trial, in line with a recommendation by the subcommittee overseeing health strategies against the flu pandemic, Dr Witit said.
Virologist Prasert Thongcharoen, the subcommittee chairman, raised concerns over the safety of fast-tracked vaccine research and said careful development was needed as Thailand had adopted the live-attenuated vaccine technology, as opposed to unactivated virus technology.
Live-attenuated vaccine technology allows a large amount of vaccine to be produced in a short period of time.
Dr Witit said the GPO had followed development steps recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The agency was considering using facilities at King Mongkut's University of Technology (KMUT) Thon Buri to boost production of the vaccine to accommodate the second wave of the influenza.
He said the agency hoped to use facilities at KMUT's Bang Khunthian campus as its second plant for making the vaccine.
Dr Witit admitted the maximum production capacity of the plant at Silpakorn University's faculty of pharmaceutical sciences in Nakhon Pathom province was just 540,000 doses per month.
The agency hopes to produce 10 million doses of the vaccine by December.
A five-year rental plan for using university laboratories to develop vaccines is being negotiated with KMUT. The GPO said it could invest 150 million baht into the project. Additional funds have been sought from the World Health Organisation, he said.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry yesterday confirmed eight new deaths from H1N1, raising the country's death toll to 119.
Paichit Varachit, deputy permanent secretary for public health, said the deaths between Aug 16 and 22 were four women and four men. Half were aged from 31 to 40 years, which is categorised as a risk group.
The rise in the number of deaths in the past week was the smallest since weekly tallies were begun on July 15. It was nearly half the 14 deaths reported the week before.
Dr Paichit said the H1N1 outbreak in Bangkok and surrounding areas was diminishing, but it was spreading in northern provinces."The ministry has instructed every province to strictly follow two reduction measures: Reduce both the number of viral infections and the overall death toll as much as they can," he said. Dr Paichit said the government committee in charge of containing the H1N1 outbreak, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, met on Tuesday and agreed to continue anti-flu measures.
H1N1 WATCH Deaths: As of Aug 22,compared to Aug 15 111 119 Aug 15 Aug 22 Contact numbers: * Public Health Ministry hotline: 02-590-1994 (24 hours) or 1422 * Health Emergency Response Unit: 02-590-3333 * BMA disease control division: 02-245-8106 POST graphics
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, which is making the vaccine, is now looking for a new academic partner to step up production ahead of the second wave of infections expected in December.
GPO managing director Witit Artavatkun yesterday said 1,270 vials, each containing 0.7ml of the vaccine, were labelled and stored in a temperaturecontrolled room awaiting sterilisation tests. The process would take two weeks.
Mahidol University's faculty of veterinary science is preparing for further tests on animals before moving on to a clinical trial, in line with a recommendation by the subcommittee overseeing health strategies against the flu pandemic, Dr Witit said.
Virologist Prasert Thongcharoen, the subcommittee chairman, raised concerns over the safety of fast-tracked vaccine research and said careful development was needed as Thailand had adopted the live-attenuated vaccine technology, as opposed to unactivated virus technology.
Live-attenuated vaccine technology allows a large amount of vaccine to be produced in a short period of time.
Dr Witit said the GPO had followed development steps recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The agency was considering using facilities at King Mongkut's University of Technology (KMUT) Thon Buri to boost production of the vaccine to accommodate the second wave of the influenza.
He said the agency hoped to use facilities at KMUT's Bang Khunthian campus as its second plant for making the vaccine.
Dr Witit admitted the maximum production capacity of the plant at Silpakorn University's faculty of pharmaceutical sciences in Nakhon Pathom province was just 540,000 doses per month.
The agency hopes to produce 10 million doses of the vaccine by December.
A five-year rental plan for using university laboratories to develop vaccines is being negotiated with KMUT. The GPO said it could invest 150 million baht into the project. Additional funds have been sought from the World Health Organisation, he said.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry yesterday confirmed eight new deaths from H1N1, raising the country's death toll to 119.
Paichit Varachit, deputy permanent secretary for public health, said the deaths between Aug 16 and 22 were four women and four men. Half were aged from 31 to 40 years, which is categorised as a risk group.
The rise in the number of deaths in the past week was the smallest since weekly tallies were begun on July 15. It was nearly half the 14 deaths reported the week before.
Dr Paichit said the H1N1 outbreak in Bangkok and surrounding areas was diminishing, but it was spreading in northern provinces."The ministry has instructed every province to strictly follow two reduction measures: Reduce both the number of viral infections and the overall death toll as much as they can," he said. Dr Paichit said the government committee in charge of containing the H1N1 outbreak, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, met on Tuesday and agreed to continue anti-flu measures.
H1N1 WATCH Deaths: As of Aug 22,compared to Aug 15 111 119 Aug 15 Aug 22 Contact numbers: * Public Health Ministry hotline: 02-590-1994 (24 hours) or 1422 * Health Emergency Response Unit: 02-590-3333 * BMA disease control division: 02-245-8106 POST graphics
TESTS START ON VACCINE FOR 2009 INFLUENZA
The first 1,270 doses of a clinical nasalspray vaccine against the typeA(H1N1) flu is now being tested on animals to study sterilisation and toxicity, Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) director Dr Vitthit Attavejchakul said yesterday.
The trial would be carried out by Mahidol University's Faculty of Veterinary Science and the results released in about two weeks, he said.
Meanwhile, the second lot of 1,500 specific pathogenfree eggs was inoculated with a virus seed vaccine on Tuesday. They are expected to provide a new yield of flu vaccine by tomorrow.
The GPO had planned to test the first lot of clinical vaccine against new flu virus in 24 human volunteers by September 4.
But because the German eggs produce a low yield of the new flu vaccine, the GPO has decided to test the vaccine on only half (12) of the volunteers.
The rest of the volunteers will have to wait till the second lot of clinical vaccine is ready at the end of September.
GPO plans to produce 20 million doses of the vaccine initially, and Silpakorn University's Faculty of Pharmacy is contracted to produce 10 million doses of the new flu vaccine.
However, the plant at Silpakorn University can only produce 540,000 doses of the vaccine a month, so the GPO is negotiating with King Mongkut University of Technology's Thon Buri campus to supply further amounts of vaccine.
GPO will allocate Bt150 million for a new vaccine plant and will spend four months installing machines and devices for vaccine production.
If construction of the plant at King Mongkut University of Technology's Thon Buri campus is finished, GPO will use this plant to produce live attenuated vaccine while the plant at Silpakorn will shift to produce inactive vaccine.
A leading scientist at Chulalongkorn University, Dr Thirawat Hemajutha, has suggested the GPO should renovate its animal vaccine plant, run by the Department of Livestock, at Pak Chong district in Nakhon Ratchasima, for use as a plant to temporarily produce human vaccine promptly.
Vitthit said he had already asked the Department of Livestock but was told this was not possible, as the department plans to produce three animal vaccines and could not stop that work.
Vitthit said the virus seed vaccine imported from Russia had not changed significantly or mutated into virulent form.
"We did not see any significant changes in the virus' genes, particularly in the position to control its virulence," he said.
"Every process that we have done to produce vaccine is cerฌtified by the World Health Organisation."
The Public Health Ministry confirmed yesterday that eight more people had died from the new strain of typeA (H1N1) flu last week, bringing the total number of fatality to 119.
Deputy permanent secretary for Health Dr Paijit Warachit said the new fatalities were four men and four women. Half were people aged between 31 to 40 years of age and categorised as a risk group for the new flu.
Paijit said the ministry remained on its guard against the H1N1 flu pandemic. It was urging provincial authorities to monitor people who have flulike illness as the disease has already spread among farmers and workers.
The ministry has distributed about 6.7 million tablets of the antiviral drug oseltamivir to hospitals upcountry to treat patients with flulike illnesses. It had also "reserved" about six million tablets at the GPO and Department of Disease Control. So far, about 1.8 million pills had been given out in a bid to save patients' lives.
The trial would be carried out by Mahidol University's Faculty of Veterinary Science and the results released in about two weeks, he said.
Meanwhile, the second lot of 1,500 specific pathogenfree eggs was inoculated with a virus seed vaccine on Tuesday. They are expected to provide a new yield of flu vaccine by tomorrow.
The GPO had planned to test the first lot of clinical vaccine against new flu virus in 24 human volunteers by September 4.
But because the German eggs produce a low yield of the new flu vaccine, the GPO has decided to test the vaccine on only half (12) of the volunteers.
The rest of the volunteers will have to wait till the second lot of clinical vaccine is ready at the end of September.
GPO plans to produce 20 million doses of the vaccine initially, and Silpakorn University's Faculty of Pharmacy is contracted to produce 10 million doses of the new flu vaccine.
However, the plant at Silpakorn University can only produce 540,000 doses of the vaccine a month, so the GPO is negotiating with King Mongkut University of Technology's Thon Buri campus to supply further amounts of vaccine.
GPO will allocate Bt150 million for a new vaccine plant and will spend four months installing machines and devices for vaccine production.
If construction of the plant at King Mongkut University of Technology's Thon Buri campus is finished, GPO will use this plant to produce live attenuated vaccine while the plant at Silpakorn will shift to produce inactive vaccine.
A leading scientist at Chulalongkorn University, Dr Thirawat Hemajutha, has suggested the GPO should renovate its animal vaccine plant, run by the Department of Livestock, at Pak Chong district in Nakhon Ratchasima, for use as a plant to temporarily produce human vaccine promptly.
Vitthit said he had already asked the Department of Livestock but was told this was not possible, as the department plans to produce three animal vaccines and could not stop that work.
Vitthit said the virus seed vaccine imported from Russia had not changed significantly or mutated into virulent form.
"We did not see any significant changes in the virus' genes, particularly in the position to control its virulence," he said.
"Every process that we have done to produce vaccine is cerฌtified by the World Health Organisation."
The Public Health Ministry confirmed yesterday that eight more people had died from the new strain of typeA (H1N1) flu last week, bringing the total number of fatality to 119.
Deputy permanent secretary for Health Dr Paijit Warachit said the new fatalities were four men and four women. Half were people aged between 31 to 40 years of age and categorised as a risk group for the new flu.
Paijit said the ministry remained on its guard against the H1N1 flu pandemic. It was urging provincial authorities to monitor people who have flulike illness as the disease has already spread among farmers and workers.
The ministry has distributed about 6.7 million tablets of the antiviral drug oseltamivir to hospitals upcountry to treat patients with flulike illnesses. It had also "reserved" about six million tablets at the GPO and Department of Disease Control. So far, about 1.8 million pills had been given out in a bid to save patients' lives.
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