India says develops local bird flu vaccine

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India announced on Sunday it has successfully developed a vaccine against bird flu in poultry.

The country has culled hundreds of thousands of birds since February when it reported its first outbreak in poultry. Although no human infections have been reported, thousands of people were monitored for flu-like symptoms.

“I am happy to announce the high security animal disease laboratory (in) Bhopal… has made significant effort to develop a killed vaccine against the bird flu in a short period of time,” Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said in New Delhi.

The laboratory in central Indian city of Bhopal is the main facility in the country for testing and research. India is not developing a vaccine for humans but has imported vaccines for poultry from the Netherlands.

Last month, Indian authorities said bird flu had subsided and in six months the country could be declared free from the infection.

Worldwide, the H5N1 strain of avian flu has killed 132 people since 2003, according to the World Health Organisation.

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