Maker Of Tamiflu On Alert For Possible Shipment

It’s just coming out that the outbreak of bird flu that killed seven members of one family in Indochina prompted the World Health Organization to put the maker of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu on alert for possible shipment of the global stockpile for the first time.

No further action on the emergency supply was expected for now, according to the U.N. health agency, which called the alert part of its standard operating procedure when a case arises like that in Indonesia.

“We have no intention of shipping that stockpile,” WHO spokesman Dick Thompson cautioned. “We see this as a practice run.”

Meanwhile, Indonesia confirmed three more bird flu deaths as the country grapples with a spike in human cases. Bird flu is known to have infected 48 people in Indonesia, with 36 deaths — second highest after Vietnam’s 42 deaths.

Health officials continue to emphasize that there is no evidence that the bird flu virus has mutated into a form easily passed among humans. This is not the first time that the bird flu passing between family members has been observed, just the largest.

WHO says bird flu drug maker on alert