INTERVIEW - EU considers bird flu drug strategic stockpile
By Ben Blanchard
The Star, 18 Jan 2006

BEIJING (Reuters) - The European Union is considering setting up a strategic stockpile of anti-viral drugs to deal with any outbreak of bird flu in humans, a senior official said on Tuesday, urging Europeans not to panic. 

The European Commission and the World Health Organization have been urging member states to stockpile anti-viral drugs as a precaution, but there is not a centralized EU stockpile. 

European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou seen during a joint news conference with External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner in Brussels in this January 13, 2006 file photo. (REUTERS/Yves Herman)

"Some member states have raised the issue of having a European stockpile, and that would be a strategic stockpile to deal with a first outbreak," EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou told Reuters in an interview. 

The issue is expected to be discussed in April, he said, adding the WHO was creating a similar stockpile globally. 

"We found it would be better both for the European Union and for the rest of the world if we do something similar for the European countries," said the Cypriot, speaking on the sidelines of a bird flu conference in Beijing. 

Costing was still being worked out, but Kyprianou said it would not be too high as the stockpile was only meant as a first line of defense rather than treatment for everyone in the EU. 

The WHO recommends countries stockpile antiviral drugs for 20-25 percent of the population in case of an influenza pandemic. 

One of the main anti-viral drugs is Tamiflu, made by Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG. 

The H5N1 form of the virus has already killed at least 79 people since 2003, according to the WHO, and scientists fear it is only a matter of time before the strain mutates into a form that passes easily between humans. 

Human victims had been confined to East Asia until recently, when four people died in eastern Turkey, bringing the virus to the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. 

PREPARATIONS  H5N1 has been found among birds in Croatia, Romania and Russia but no human cases have been reported in Europe. 

Many experts think Africa could be the next continent to be hit by bird flu, which is why about one quarter of the $100 million in aid the EU pledged last week will go to Africa, Kyprianou said. 

He expected EU nations would give more or less the same amount at the Beijing meeting. The World Bank estimates between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion will be needed. 

That amount does not include human vaccines, which World Bank Vice President Jim Adams said the WHO deals with separately. 

"I can't say that we can relax. We have to continue the preparations," said Kyprianou. 

But it was important to remember bird flu was still an animal disease, he said, adding there was no cause for alarm.