Mass production of flu vaccine against the virulent H5N1 avian flu strain is expected to begin at the end of this year, Taiwan will produce between 60,000 and 80,000 doses of the vaccine per month from the end of this year.

Several other countries worldwide are working to develop vaccines that could be used against a pandemic flu strain.

The successful tests came after 17 months of research, starting from “ground zero” because the island did not have previous experience in the field before, said Pele Chong, who leads the vaccine development program at the NHRI.

If a pandemic bird flu strain emerges, experts have predicted it could take six months before inoculations such as the one Taiwan is developing could be adjusted to provide full protection.

However, vaccines that defend against the existing H5N1 bird flu virus are expected to provide a lesser degree of immunity. The virus remains hard for humans to catch, but experts fear it could mutate into a form that passes easily among people, potentially igniting a pandemic.

Avian flu was first known to have jumped from chickens to humans in 1997. The disease has killed millions of birds in China and Southeast Asia since 2003 and has registered a 70 percent mortality rate among the first 70 people known to have been infected.

There is widespread concern in the international community that the next outbreak of a lethal global flu pandemic might kill millions of people. So far, more than 40 countries around the world have been affected by bird flu.

According to the World Health Organization, avian flu was first known to have jumped from chickens to humans in 1997. Since 2003, it has killed 163 people worldwide.

So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with infected birds.

Taiwan has not reported any human cases from H5N1, but several fowl smuggled from China tested positive in 2005.

A small-scale clinical test on animals has proven the safety and efficacy of the locally developed vaccine against H5N1, said Su Yi-jen, a NHRI official.

While the NHRI is striving to develop enough flu vaccine against the virulent H5N1 avian flu strain, the Center for Disease Control under the Department of Health has secured enough flu vaccine — the level suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) at 10 percent of the population — from abroad to allow Taiwan to be ready for an avian flu pandemic.

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