France Presents Bird Flu Plan to Protect Entire Population

France aims to have protective masks, vaccines and anti-viral drugs to protect its entire population in the event of a deadly flu pandemic, the health minister said Wednesday. France currently has 14 million anti-viral treatments, and has ordered 40 million flu vaccines, Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said. He did not indicate what kind of vaccines had been ordered or from where.

Bertrand spoke to reporters after presenting parliament with the government's new 68-page plan for coping with any influenza outbreak stemming from bird flu. Health experts fear the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain could mutate into a highly infectious form of human flu. The French plan orders veterinary officials and farmers to monitor much more closely all poultry farms and wild bird populations. Read More ....

Source: Billings Gazette