NZ undecided on flu vaccine

Health officials are still thinking about whether the pandemic declared yesterday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) means they should order eight million doses of vaccine from Australian manufacturer, CSL Ltd.

"The use of a vaccine is still being considered," Steve Brazier, the Ministry of Health's national incident controller, told NZPA.

Though the present form of the A H1N1 swine flu is spreading rapidly in populations where there is community transmission, symptoms have been reported to be no worse than seasonal flu in most cases.

The ministry must decide whether to use vaccine to protect particularly vulnerable people expected to fall ill -- or wait in case the swine flu virus later changes to a more virulent form, or one resistant to the Tamiflu anti-viral drug.

The Australian government has already ordered vaccine supplies for 10 million people. Normally CSL would conduct trials over six months to decide the best dosage and seek regulatory approval, but a company spokeswoman, Rachel David, said the Australian government may allow vaccinations to start earlier if the pandemic worsens.

On this side of the Tasman, officials have not made a decision, despite the ministry having taken an option to purchase up to eight million doses of vaccine from CSL.

Director of public health Mark Jacobs announced in 2005 that the nation had been "guaranteed" a vaccine against pandemic influenza.

"We have a formal arrangement with Australia's CSL Ltd. which gives us a guaranteed supply if we need a pandemic vaccine," he said.

New Zealand expected to get access to a vaccine within four to six months of the WHO declaring the existence of a pandemic, he said.

The nation is third on the priority list for CSL - after Australia and a small country which put in its order before NZ.

When the WHO recently suggested affluent countries might like to share their pre-ordered vaccine with poor nations, Mr Brazier told NZPA: "New Zealand has a vaccine supplier because we organised one many years ago".

Last night, Mr Brazier said: "The ministry will hold discussions with disease epidemiologists and vaccine experts before making any decisions".

But deputy director of public health, Darren Hunt said he didn't think the vaccine would be available until after winter.

And when Dr Hunt was asked what would trigger the legal step of the Government issuing an "Epidemic Notice" - a move which will automatically give medical officers of health special powers - he told NZPA that "due consideration" was on the basis of what was happening in New Zealand, rather than globally.

"We do not have an epidemic in New Zealand at present," he said.

The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in New Zealand was last night 35, after eight new cases of swine flu were confirmed in one day.

There are 25 probable cases of swine flu, up from 10 the previous day.

All of the new cases are reported as having mild symptoms, but Health Minister Tony Ryall has said it is inevitable that swine flu will spread, possibly hitting up to a third of the population.

"Numbers are going to continue to rise," he said.

"The upper level is of course you might end up with 20 or 30 per cent of the population with swine flu, but we don't know".

- NZPA