EU spent 28.3 million euros for bird flu research

The European Union (EU) yesterday announced it would spend 28.3 million euros (35.5 billion USD) on a new fund to study bird flu. Vietnam is one of the partners participating in these studies.

Accordingly, the EU research program will have 17 projects, with a study period of about 2-4 years, studying both human and animal health.

An Egyptian health worker is spraying an antiseptic around a house in al-Abiyat in March 2005.Hatem al-Gabali, Egyptian Health Minister, said he was worried that there would be more human avian flu infections in the next few weeks (Photo: AFP).

For human research, projects will better understand how avian influenza viruses exist and develop and research and develop bird flu vaccines.

For animal studies, projects will focus on vaccine preparation, early warning systems development, increased understanding of avian influenza viruses, and technology transfer to third world countries. , established a monitoring system for migratory birds.

Among the selected projects, there are 9 projects with the participation of countries outside the EU, including Russia, China, Vietnam, Australia, USA, Canada and Croatia, many of which are directly affected. by recent outbreaks of bird flu.

* In another development, US scientists said yesterday they had developed a new vaccine that could prevent Spanish flu virus in laboratory mice . This is the virus that caused a global pandemic in 1918 that killed 20-50 million people, including healthy adults. Scientists believe it is a variant of the avian influenza virus that causes human illness.

Scientists are continuing to research and develop this vaccine in the hope that it will be a new weapon to protect humans and poultry from the H5N1 virus.

WALL VY