This is the first time I've heard Canadian officials talking about mass
vaccinations, but this is what they were talking about on the
6 pm news on CFTO, CTV's local affiliate....
Canada's bird flu pandemic program read
Canadian Press
Updated: Tue. Jan. 27 2004 11:29 PM ET
TORONTO � In the face of ever worsening news about avian influenza in Southeast Asia, federal officials moved Tuesday to reassure Canadians that plans are in place should the bird flu develop into an influenza pandemic.
In interviews with selected media outlets, Health Canada's point person for pandemic preparedness revealed hints of what a soon-to-be-released federal plan will contain. Heavy stress will be placed on Ottawa's multimillion-dollar pandemic vaccine program, the only one of its kind in the world.
But a decision to stockpile anti-viral drugs - which could help keep essential workers healthy until a vaccine is available - has not yet been made, said Dr. Arlene King, chair of Health Canada's pandemic influenza committee.
"Anti-virals are not a panacea for influenza," King, director of the division of immunization and respiratory diseases, told The Canadian Press.
"We're looking at all of our options but right now I wanted to emphasize that it (anti-viral stockpiling) is a very small component of our overall response plan, with vaccine really forming the backbone of it."
Nor has Health Canada decided to lay in stocks of antibiotics, which would be needed to fight secondary infections caused by the flu.
Experts have been demanding Ottawa begin amassing the drugs now - especially anti-virals - warning that once a pandemic starts sweeping the globe, drug pipelines will dry up. Many fear governments may succumb to pressures to nationalize pharmaceutical operations within their borders to protect their own citizens. (Scare tactics - Emphasis is mine ~ D)
"A pandemic is going to require multiple layers of contingency," said Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an influenza expert with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control who has been among those calling for the stockpiling of anti-virals.
"We're going to need every defence at our disposal if a pandemic occurs. And we have to accept the fact that we may not have the very best defence, which is vaccine, available for some months, which means we're going to need next best options."
King noted there is no guarantee the limited number of anti-virals marketed for influenza would be effective in a pandemic; the pandemic strain that emerges may prove to be resistant to the drugs.
The H5N1 influenza strain responsible for the current widespread outbreak of bird flu in Asia has already been shown to be resistant to one of the anti-viral options, amantadine, which is cheap and easy to store for long periods. *Oseltamivir, sold as Tamiflu, is effective against the strain.
* Oseltavirin was one of the treatments given to 'SARS' victims. I believe it is a chemotherapy product like Ribavirin. Looks like it is also probably a version of Oseltamivir, as it is under a similar name. (Jon, can you confirm?). On air, they talked of mass vaccination programs.
Back to top of document
