USA's GAO says drugs not enough to stem or avoid bird flu pandemic

The US Government Accountability Office has issued its assessment of the federal administration's efforts to prepare for a possible influenza pandemic (Marketletters passim). The report, titled Influenza Pandemic: Efforts Under Way to Address Constraints on Using Antivirals and Vaccines to Forestall a Pandemic, accepts the view of the World Health Organization that a new strain of the H5N1 flu virus is a potential public health threat. However, the GAO also notes that uncertain effectiveness and limited availability will hamper efforts to cope with an outbreak of the disease.

The congressional watchdog noted that, "due to the time required to identify the virus and develop and manufacture a pandemic vaccine - 20 to 23 weeks according to [the Department of Health and Human Services] HHS - such vaccines are likely to play little or no role in efforts to forestall a pandemic in its initial stages." The GAO also warned that efforts to improve the speed of vaccine development would take several years.