Vabiotech, under Vietnam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), has almost succeeded in researching and producing vaccines against EV71-associated hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD), a contagious viral illness that affects mostly infants and young children. The research on the vaccines was initiated in 2010 after the HFMD broke out across the country with tens thousands of infections reported, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported. The company has already completed clinical trials and now prepares for trials in humans. HFMD virus strain for the vaccine production is taken from patients in Vietnam, the state-run newspaper said. There is no vaccine to prevent HFMD. In January 2013, a Chinese group reported results from an early clinical trial of vaccines for EV71 and identified a candidate for the next phase of testing. Other vaccines are being worked on in Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia. Currently, Vabiotech is seeking permission from the Ministry of Health to sell its vaccines against A/H5N1 influenza virus, namely Fluvax, in the local market this year. Vietnam is coping with the occurrence of many infectious diseases such as measles, chickenpox, hand-foot-mouth disease, and Japanese encephalitis as summer is approaching. (Thanh Nien – Young People May 15 p2)
