[1] Egypt - WHO confirmation of 50th case [2] Japan - pre-pandemic vaccine trial approved

[1] Egypt - WHO confirmation of 50th case
<http://www.who.int/csr/don/2008_04_17/en/index.html>

[2] Japan - pre-pandemic vaccine trial approvedDate: Fri 18 Apr 2008Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan [edited]
Clinical trial for pre-pandemic influenza vaccination - Japan
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan (MHLW) has announced on Wed 16 Apr 2008 that it would organise a clinical trial for pre-pandemic influenza vaccines against H5N1 on 6400 volunteers to further make sure its safety and effectiveness which had already been tested for a smaller number and been approved by the national regulatory authority. The 6400 volunteers will include quarantine officers, health care workers and emergency response workers.
MHLW will consider expanding pre-pandemic vaccination to wider prioritised targets up to 10 million if the trial proves its safety and effectiveness. It would also consider increasing its stock of pre-pandemic vaccines in addition to the current 20 million stockpiles of Viet Nam, Indonesia and Anhui [China] strains as bulks.
In the meantime, MHLW is always endeavouring to improve the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and their manufacturing process including introducing cell-culture-based vaccines to increase the speed of their production.
--Communicated by:Kenichi TSUJII, M.D., MPATuberculosis and Infectious Diseases Control DivisionHealth Services BureauMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan<tsujii-kenichi@mhlw.go.jp>
[ProMED-mail would like to thank Dr. Kenichi Tsujii for sharing this information with our subscribers. The nature of the vaccine is not disclosed, but it is likely to be a whole virus inactivated egg-grown vaccine without adjuvant. We look forward to hearing results of this vaccine trial as they become available. However, it is not clear how the efficacy of the vaccine is going to be assessed, and what controls are in place. Further information would be welcomed. - Mod.MPP/CP]