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Interesting article about tamiflu production, and dead birds in Caribbean.
New GPC manufacturing bird flu medication... Health Ministry has 10,000 doses in stock
Guyana can respond to regional requests for anti-flu supplies
Friday, April 28th 2006
The New Guyana Pharmaceu-tical Corporation (GPC) has manufactured and delivered to the Ministry of Health 10,000 doses of anti-flu medication for use in the national health system in the event of an outbreak of the dreaded "bird flu" epidemic in Guyana.
Stabroek Business understands that the new GPC has enough raw material in stock to manufacture such additional quantities of the anti-flu tablet as may be required to respond to any medical emergency associated with the outbreak of the epidemic locally. "We are confident that we will be able to respond to requests for additional supplies of anti-flu within a week of the request," Executive Chairman of the New GPC Dr. Ranjisinghi Ramroop told Stabroek Business.
The anti-flu medication is being manufactured locally following the conclusion of an agreement between the New GPC and the Indian pharmaceutical giant CIPLA under which Guyana has secured the raw materials, manufacturing capacity and laboratory capability to enable its manufacture.
Dr. Ramroop told Stabroek Business that Guyana is now the only country in the Caribbean that has both the capacity to manufacture the anti-flu medication as well as supplies of the medication in stock in the event of a bird flu outbreak. According to Dr. Ramroop, under the agreement with CIPLA Guyana had also secured the laboratory capability to undertake the manufacture of anti-flu. "We are prepared to respond to requests from the region, either directly to the New GPC or through the Ministry of Health for assistance with supplies of the medication," Dr, Ramroop said.
The announcement that Guyana now has the capacity to manufacture the anti-flu medication and that it is prepared to respond to requests for treatment support from the region comes in the wake of evidence of growing regional awareness of the threat posed by the deadly H5NI strain of avian influenza.
New GPC Executive Chairman Dr. Ranjisinghi Ramroop
While rumors of outbreaks of bird flu in both Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago between mid-2005 and earlier this year have been dismissed by the health authorities in both CARICOM territories, both countries have had to take precautionary measures by culling thousands of birds.
In January the health authorities in Trinidad and Tobago were forced to make a public announcement to quell fears that bird flu may have hit the twin-island republic following the unexplained deaths of more than 2,000 chickens at a farm near Port-of-Spain. Trinidad and Tobago has recently banned the importation of poultry meat from France following the discovery of the bird flu infection in poultry meat there. The Caricom state had earlier banned the importation of poultry from several American states where bird flu was reported to have been detected.
Several months ago Guyana announced that it had set up a broad-based committee comprising officials of the several agencies including the Ministries of Health and Agriculture to monitor the bird flu situation and implement precautionary steps. The Ministry of Agriculture had announced that it would launch a countrywide outreach programme aimed at sensitizing the country's poultry farmers to the dangers of the global epidemic and training them to take bio-security measures. In recent weeks, however, Stabroek Business has learnt that the programme undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture is yet to reach small poultry farmers despite what the Ministry says is the possibility that a bird flu epidemic in Guyana could begin with infected birds on what it calls a "backyard operation."
The HN51 strain of avian flu is now endemic in parts of south east Asia including Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam. More than 40 million birds are believed to have died or been destroyed at a cost of more than US$10bn to the regional poultry industry. In Vietnam alone bird flu has reportedly resulted in the loss of 17% of the poultry industry valued at approximately US$120m. South east Asia also accounts for the vast majority of the more than 150 reported cases of bird flu in humans. Ninety three of the reported global cases on bird flu have occurred in Vietnam.
Dr. Ramroop told Stabroek Business that bird flu is likely to impact more severely in communities that lack access to adequate health care and those where chronic illnesses had served to compromise the immune systems.
New GPC manufacturing bird flu medication... Health Ministry has 10,000 doses in stock
Guyana can respond to regional requests for anti-flu supplies
Friday, April 28th 2006
The New Guyana Pharmaceu-tical Corporation (GPC) has manufactured and delivered to the Ministry of Health 10,000 doses of anti-flu medication for use in the national health system in the event of an outbreak of the dreaded "bird flu" epidemic in Guyana.
Stabroek Business understands that the new GPC has enough raw material in stock to manufacture such additional quantities of the anti-flu tablet as may be required to respond to any medical emergency associated with the outbreak of the epidemic locally. "We are confident that we will be able to respond to requests for additional supplies of anti-flu within a week of the request," Executive Chairman of the New GPC Dr. Ranjisinghi Ramroop told Stabroek Business.
The anti-flu medication is being manufactured locally following the conclusion of an agreement between the New GPC and the Indian pharmaceutical giant CIPLA under which Guyana has secured the raw materials, manufacturing capacity and laboratory capability to enable its manufacture.
Dr. Ramroop told Stabroek Business that Guyana is now the only country in the Caribbean that has both the capacity to manufacture the anti-flu medication as well as supplies of the medication in stock in the event of a bird flu outbreak. According to Dr. Ramroop, under the agreement with CIPLA Guyana had also secured the laboratory capability to undertake the manufacture of anti-flu. "We are prepared to respond to requests from the region, either directly to the New GPC or through the Ministry of Health for assistance with supplies of the medication," Dr, Ramroop said.
The announcement that Guyana now has the capacity to manufacture the anti-flu medication and that it is prepared to respond to requests for treatment support from the region comes in the wake of evidence of growing regional awareness of the threat posed by the deadly H5NI strain of avian influenza.
New GPC Executive Chairman Dr. Ranjisinghi Ramroop
While rumors of outbreaks of bird flu in both Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago between mid-2005 and earlier this year have been dismissed by the health authorities in both CARICOM territories, both countries have had to take precautionary measures by culling thousands of birds.
In January the health authorities in Trinidad and Tobago were forced to make a public announcement to quell fears that bird flu may have hit the twin-island republic following the unexplained deaths of more than 2,000 chickens at a farm near Port-of-Spain. Trinidad and Tobago has recently banned the importation of poultry meat from France following the discovery of the bird flu infection in poultry meat there. The Caricom state had earlier banned the importation of poultry from several American states where bird flu was reported to have been detected.
Several months ago Guyana announced that it had set up a broad-based committee comprising officials of the several agencies including the Ministries of Health and Agriculture to monitor the bird flu situation and implement precautionary steps. The Ministry of Agriculture had announced that it would launch a countrywide outreach programme aimed at sensitizing the country's poultry farmers to the dangers of the global epidemic and training them to take bio-security measures. In recent weeks, however, Stabroek Business has learnt that the programme undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture is yet to reach small poultry farmers despite what the Ministry says is the possibility that a bird flu epidemic in Guyana could begin with infected birds on what it calls a "backyard operation."
The HN51 strain of avian flu is now endemic in parts of south east Asia including Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam. More than 40 million birds are believed to have died or been destroyed at a cost of more than US$10bn to the regional poultry industry. In Vietnam alone bird flu has reportedly resulted in the loss of 17% of the poultry industry valued at approximately US$120m. South east Asia also accounts for the vast majority of the more than 150 reported cases of bird flu in humans. Ninety three of the reported global cases on bird flu have occurred in Vietnam.
Dr. Ramroop told Stabroek Business that bird flu is likely to impact more severely in communities that lack access to adequate health care and those where chronic illnesses had served to compromise the immune systems.