Bird flu vaccine manufacturing begins

Production of an anti-bird flu vaccine against the H5N1 virus has begun, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány announced on Tuesday outside the manufacturer's plant Omnivest in Pilisborosjenő.

The vaccine, named Fluval H5N1, will offer protection against the virus which spreads from bird to bird and from birds to humans. The state will subsidise the Ft 4 billion project, with some 20,000 doses already in storage.

Around 14% of the multi-million dollar revenue, expected from sales of the vaccine to several countries, will go to the state, under stipulations of a contract agreed between the government and Omnivest. The European Commission on Wednesday welcomed the start of the manufacture of the vaccine.

Meanwhile the presence of the bird flu was detected in the bodies of another seven swans on Wednesday.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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