I don't know if you know, had that tainted British manufactured flu virus been distributed, many would have died.
U.S. ill-prepared to handle bioterror attack, experts warn
Flu vaccine crisis called symptom of far wider problem
Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 1, 2004
The manufacturing failure that has thrown the nation's flu vaccination program into chaos this season is more than a potential crisis for the millions of Americans who need protection from the virus. It is a wake-up call for a health system that is dangerously vulnerable to other epidemics, both natural and man-made, say medical experts.
"We are not well positioned to fight brand new threats or even to detect them as they emerge," said Samuel Bozzette, an infectious disease specialist at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. "The fabric of our system ... is very, very thin."
Public health experts have been warning for years that the nation's capacity to produce vaccines to combat viruses is fast drying up, largely because of corporate consolidation and dwindling profits.
"This is something that has been left to the private sector, which was fine when there were 25 different manufacturers and there was competition," said Helen Halpin, professor of health policy at UC Berkeley. "Now we're down to five (manufacturers) for all vaccines."
The problem has received renewed attention since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, with fears of bioterrorism involving such lethal agents as anthrax. Experts, however, are careful to note that naturally occurring threats can be just as deadly.
An Oct. 12 report by the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and technology research and development firm Sarnoff Corp. found widespread agreement among 30 bioterrorism experts from industry, academia and the government that the nation is not prepared to combat a major epidemic.
"Everybody agrees that we ... are not prepared for a biothreat. When one occurs, there will be disastrous consequences," said Lynne Gilfillan, lead author of the report and director of government operations at Sarnoff.
Unlike the flu, which is generally only fatal to the elderly and the infirm, the next epidemic could be far more lethal, she fears.
Even making the annual flu vaccine requires companies to start production up to nine months in advance, predicting which flu strain is likely to hit and growing its counteragent in millions of fertile chicken eggs.
That's one reason another company could not step in and quickly produce a new batch after the flu vaccine produced by Emeryville's Chiron Corp. was found to be contaminated by bacteria. Its factory in Liverpool, England -- source of half of the U.S. flu vaccine -- was shut by British health authorities Oct. 5.
Another reason is that the number of new vaccines and antibiotics and the number of companies creating them have declined, according to the FDA, and the nation has experienced shortages not only of flu vaccine but of basic drugs like penicillin, Bozzette said.
"This is a wake-up call," he said, referring to the current flu vaccine crisis.
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