Vietnam bans Tamiflu sales to build up stockpile
HANOI - Vietnam has banned over-the-counter sales of bird flu drug Tamiflu to build up a national stockpile in case of a mass outbreak. Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien gave the order early last month in the face of intense demand for the drug, which does not cure the disease but reduces its impact.
A circular was issued on November 23 to provide details, said Cao Minh Quang, director of the ministry's pharmaceutical administration department.
Provincial health services have been asked "not to sell Tamiflu doses locally and to stockpile them in national reserves, so that they could be used in areas contaminated by bird flu and in those where there are risks of contamination to humans", Quang said.
Swiss manufacturer Roche has agreed to supply Vietnam with 25 million Tamiflu capsules before the end of 2006. The company is also in talks with eight companies to produce the drug locally.
The price of the medicine has skyrocketed these last weeks, reaching up to 70 dollars for a box of 10 capsules amid increasing fears the H5N1 strain could create a pandemic.
Vietnam is the country hit hardest by bird flu. Since late 2003, as many as 93 people have taken ill with the virus and 42 of them have died, according to government figures.
Agence France Presse - December 7, 2005.
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