Canada to set up bird flu vaccine centers

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 05, 2004

Canada to set up bird flu vaccine centers

Canada plans to set up eight vaccine centers by this summer to deflect a "disaster scenario" of a deadly bird-flu outbreak that could kill thousands, local press reported Thursday.

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Canada plans to set up eight vaccine centers by this summer to deflect a "disaster scenario" ofa deadly bird-flu outbreak that could kill thousands, local press reported Thursday.

The network of vaccine centers could vaccinate as many as 400 people a day against the disease, said Brian Ward, chief of infectious diseases at the McGill University Health Center.

The network of eight vaccine centers, located in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa and Halifax, will be linked to the National Center for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg and the Immune Response Monitoring Laboratoryat the University of Montreal.

The network is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The virulent H5N1 avian flu strain has hit some Asian countriesand killed 22 people, fueling fears it could acquire the ability to easily infect humans, who have no immunity.

According to the Canadian Health Ministry, a pandemic could potentially result in between 9,000 to 51,000 deaths in Canada if a vaccine was not available. In a normal flu season, influenza kills 500 to 5,000 Canadians a year.

Rapid vaccine evaluation is part of the Health Ministry's plan for reducing illnesses, minimizing deaths and maintaining social order during the next flu pandemic.

Bird flu virus was found at a British Columbia hatchery last month but it is a less serious form of virus than that found in Asia. No Canadians have been detected contaminating the virus.

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