The production of a vaccine against avian influenza, also known as "bird flu," could take several months, according to a UN official in charge of the research.  

UN Spokeswoman Marie Okabe told a press briefing in New York that Klaus St-hr, who is leading the World Health Organization's response to the spread of the disease, estimated that it will take four to six months before a significant amount of vaccine can be produced.

"While the bird flu's spread hasn't reached pandemic proportions, the WHO will take precautionary measures," Okabe quoted the UN official as saying.

She added that the UN health agency is currently coordinating efforts to develop a vaccine prototype to give to manufacturers.

To date only Vietnam and Thailand have reported laboratory confirmed cases of bird flu infection in humans, ten cases in total, eight of them fatal. The UN agency, however, warned that without proper treatment, the unprecedented spread of bird flu in Asia will raise the specter of a human pandemic and cause disaster for agricultural production.

Avian influenza has been recognized as a highly lethal generalized viral disease of poultry since 1901. In 1955, a specific type of influenza virus was identified as the causal agent of what was then called fowl plague.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2004)