HONG KONG: Hong Kong has ordered 3 million doses of vaccines against the human swine flu virus, with the first 500,000 doses expected by mid-December, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow said yesterday.

Unveiling Hong Kong's swine flu vaccination program at a press briefing, he said the government placed the HK$237 million order with the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis. The unit price of the order is HK$79 per dose.

The remaining 2.5 million doses of the vaccine will be delivered in January, Chow said.

The company was selected through a procurement tender because it meets what Chow called, "our stringent requirements". He went on to say, "We attach great importance to efficacy and safety."

Five high-risk groups will receive the vaccines at no charge commencing in late December: health workers, the chronically-ill and expectant mothers, children between six months and six years, senior citizens aged 65 or above and people working in pig farms or slaughterhouses.

People who do not come under any of those categories may pay for the vaccinations at private clinics. The government will sell the vaccines to private doctors at the acquisition cost plus the administrative cost, Chow said.

The World Health Organizations (WHO) has given a vote of confidence to the newly-developed vaccines. Weeks after the vaccines were given to countries and regions including the Chinese mainland, WHO concluded "no unusual adverse events are being observed and side effects seen so far are similar to those observed with seasonal influenza vaccines," Chow said.

He expected the second wave of swine flu will strike Hong Kong in February and March, so the December launch of the vaccination program will help to keep the outbreak under control.

Also yesterday, the Food and Health Bureau disclosed that the swine flu virus has been found in pigs at the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse.

Two pig samples taken from the slaughterhouse on October 22 were tested positive for the virus in a University of Hong Kong influenza virus surveillance program.

This is the first time swine flu virus has been detected in pigs since the surveillance program began in 1999.

Fortunately, no gene reassortment has occurred and the virus remains genetically similar to the human swine flu viruses regularly being found in humans.

Experts in charge of the surveillance program say they believe that the swine flu virus detected in pigs was recently transmitted from humans to pigs.

Leo Poon Lit-man, a University of Hong Kong (HKU) microbiologist, told Cable Television that he believed the chances of people contracting swine flus from pigs are low.

"The pigs appear to recover fast after contracting the flu. And the virus is not potent," he said.

(HK Edition 11/06/2009 page1)