AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT OCTOBER 19

UNCLAS TOKYO 006098 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AIAG AMBASSADOR LANGE DEPT FOR OES/IHA SINGER AND FENDRICK DEPT FOR EAP/J USDA PASS TO APHIS HHS PASS TO CDC HHS FOR OGHA STEIGER, BHAT AND ELVANDER DEPT PASS TO AID/GH/HIDN DENNIS CARROLL SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH ECON PREL SOCI JA SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT OCTOBER 19 REF: A. 05 STATE 153802 ¶B. TOKYO 5970 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. There were no significant avian influenza (AI) developments in Japan during the period October 13 to October 19. No human or animal outbreaks of H5N1 AI were reported in Japan during the above period. -- Japanese Developers Confirm the Effectiveness of a New AI Vaccine for Humans -- ¶1. On October 17, four Japanese vaccine developers, including the Kitasato Research Institute, announced that they have confirmed the effectiveness of a new vaccine for human-to-human transmitted pandemic influenza. The vaccine was developed using an H5N1 AI virus taken from a human case of H5N1 infection in Vietnam, and has been in development, in cooperation with the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, since 2004. In July of this year, a phase I clinical trial of 360 healthy adult males confirmed both the vaccine's effectiveness in increasing levels of antibodies and its safety to humans. Large-scale phase II and III clinical trials began in September. The vaccine's developers plan to request approval from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to produce and sell the vaccine in 2007. SCHIEFFER