Swine flu vaccine could be ready by fall

Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG said Friday an experimental swine flu vaccine could be on the market by the fall, as Morocco reported its first case in a young woman who had been in Canada.

The pharmaceutical company said it has successfully produced the first batch of H1N1 vaccine, weeks ahead of expectations. In a statement, Novartis said it is quicker to make the vaccine through cell-based production than having to adapt the virus strain to grow in eggs, which is usually the case.

"Novartis has successfully completed the production of the first batch of influenza A (H1N1) vaccine, weeks ahead of expectations," it said.

Canada, Britain and France have signed contracts with pharmaceutical firms guaranteeing them access to a pandemic vaccine.

The federal government is bringing flu experts from the public and private sector together to do their own vaccine research.  

Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, urged Canadians to get a swine flu shot in the fall to reduce the spread and protect those who get immunized but may not gain full protection.

Vaccine research is focused on those at greatest risk from swine flu, such as young people who have never been exposed to related viruses.

"That's why they are more susceptible" said Dr. Donald Low, medical director for Ontario's Public Health Laboratories. "It might actually take two or three doses" for young people.

The H1N1 flu shot would be on top of the normal seasonal flu shot, which public health officials are also recommending.

"We really do have the Canadian population's attention now, saying: 'Influenza is a bad disease,' " said Dr. Brian Ward, a vaccine specialist at McGill University in Montreal. "And so I think it will increase people's willingness to move toward vaccine."

If there is a proven swine flu vaccine in place by this fall, the federal government says every Canadian will have access to it.

Vaccine for poor countries

The Novartis vaccine will first be tested on ferrets and then humans before regulatory approval is granted, said Reuters.

It's not clear how the drug will be dispensed. Novartis said it will depend on decisions made by various governments and the World Health Organization.

"WHO's primary concern is to strengthen and support health systems in countries with less resources. Health systems need to be able to prevent, detect, treat and mitigate cases of illness associated with the virus," the agency said after declaring the first influenza pandemic since 1968 on Thursday.

WHO and drug makers estimate about 2.4 billion doses of pandemic vaccine could be available in about a year.

On Thursday, GlaxoSmithKline said it would be ready to start large-scale vaccine production within weeks. Sanofi-Aventis has also started working on such a vaccine.

Morocco case linked to Canada

As of Friday, 29,669 cases have been confirmed in 74 countries, with 145 deaths linked to the disease, according to WHO.

Canada has reported four deaths linked to swine flu. Most of the nearly 3,000 cases in the country have been considered mild.

The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in Manitoba jumped to 119 with the addition of 42 new cases reported by provincial health officials on Friday.

Nearly 5,000 new U.S. swine flu cases have been reported in the last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported Friday. The infection continues to spread in New England, New York and New Jersey.

Morocco's Health Ministry on Friday announced that country's first confirmed case of swine flu.

The ministry says the patient is an 18-year-old woman who arrived from Montreal this week. She had been attending university in the city.

She was detected at the airport in the northern Moroccan city of Fez because she showed symptoms of high fever and is being treated in a local hospital.

Health officials said the woman's temperature had dropped and she is showing signs of improvement.