The National Bio-technology Institute has successfully produced A/H5N1 vaccine for poultry, saving millions of US dollars a year for Vietnam.

Scientists of the National Bio-technology Institute.

Bird flu entered Vietnam in early 2004 and quickly became a pandemic in the whole country. Vietnam had to pay millions of US dollars to import bird flu vaccine from China. However, the imported vaccines were not completely suitable for domestic fowls.

The National Bio-technology Institute then asked for assistance from some foreign organisations to research a more suitable vaccine.

On November 3, 2005, the institute received NIBRG – 14 virus type from a British institute and started producing A/H5N1 vaccine based on this virus type.

Over two years later, the institute announced the successful production of the vaccine. Two phases of experiments, one in Vietnam and one in a foreign country, proved that the vaccine is effective.

The final test was conducted at a chicken farm in Hanoi recently and it was also successful.

Two leading veterinary vaccine producers in Vietnam, the National Veterinary Medicine Company and the Central Veterinary Medicine Enterprise, are now allowed by the National Bio-technology Institute to produce commercial vaccines.

This kind of vaccine will be marketed very soon at lower prices than imported products.

VietNamNet/Dat Viet