Scientists inject the vaccine in monkeys on Reu Island, Quang Ninh province in 2004.

VietNamNet Bridge – After four years of research, scientists at the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology have announced they will test type A/H5N1 vaccine on humans this April and the vaccine will be available on the market in 2009.

Last stage of H5N1 vaccine

There was good news for scientists at the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology: the Ministry of Health agreed to let them test H5N1 vaccine on humans. The over-four year process of researching H5N1 virus carried out by the scientists is at last in the final stage.

In early March 2008, a group of scientists of the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology were the first volunteers to test this vaccine. In April, 300 other volunteers will take the vaccine as well, said Dr. Nguyen Thu Van, Director of the Vaccine and Bio-product Company No.1, who chairs the H5N1 vaccine project.

The 300 volunteers are students at Army Medical Institute 103. The records of these volunteers have been sent to the Ministry of Defence for consideration.

The test will include two phases, according to Dr. Van. In the first phase, 30 people will be injected with two doses, 28 days apart. After one month, if the result is good, the second phase will be conducted. Between the two phases, doctors will test the blood of participants to verify the safety of the vaccine. The two phases are scheduled to last for eight months.

H5N1 vaccine produced by the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology, named Fluvax

If the vaccine meets safety standards, the Health Ministry will licence it for mass production and circulation, which may come in 2009.

According to Dr. Van, the most difficult stage in research is testing on mice. For a dangerous virus like H5N1, the biggest worry of scientists is the virus mutating so rapidly that when the scientists can finally produce the vaccine, it is already ineffective.

“It is true that H5N1 virus type changes but according to our research, the change is little so the vaccine that we are researching based on research on virus type 2004 still works,” Dr. Van confirmed.

“We have built up a technology process so if the virus mutates, we can quickly produce vaccine for the new type of virus,” she emphasised.

How does Vietnam have an H5N1 vaccine?

In 1997, virus H5N1 appeared in Hong Kong, killing six people. In late 2003 it was reported in Vietnam and became a threat.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that H5N1 may mutate to become more toxic and it can be transmitted from humans to humans and may kill 1-40 million people. Along with international scientists, a group of scientists at the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology began researching H5N1 vaccine in 2004. On January 17, 2005, they tested the vaccine on mice and then on chickens and monkeys. The tests showed good results.

The vaccine, named Fluvax, is expected to come to the market in 2009 at a reasonable price of VND40,000 per dose.

Le Ha