BRITAIN: A stockpile of anti-flu drugs to treat 14.6 million people - about a quarter of the UK population - will be bought by the British government over the next two years.
The £200 million (€291 million)extra supplies will be aimed at high-risk groups, such as the over-65s, those with chronic disease and the very young.
Experts agree that a global flu pandemic is overdue and with the death toll from avian flu in southeast Asia continuing to rise, there are fears the next pandemic may not be far off.
The Department of Health in the Republic announced yesterday that the State's influenza pandemic expert group had reconvened and was reviewing and updating Ireland's preparedness for an influenza pandemic.
The group, chaired by Prof William Hall, director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, has reviewed recommendations for the use of antivirals and is forwarding its advice to the Minister for Health, Mary Harney.
The department said it would make efforts over the next few weeks to secure large supplies of antiviral drugs that could be used in the event of a pandemic.
It said the Government had agreed in principle that antiviral drugs should be stockpiled. Antivirals have a shelf life of only five years.
In the UK, stocks of the drug Tamiflu have been bought for key workers, including police, health professionals and those needed to maintain food and power supplies.
Scientists believe the antivirals should buy time so that vaccines targeted against any particular strain of flu, probably mutated from avian viruses, could be developed.
This could take four to six months, even if more generic seed vaccine has already been prepared.
But far more time would be needed to prepare sufficient stocks to eradicate such a potential killer, and UK vaccine manufacturers say that at present they do not have the capacity to make enough, leaving Britain to compete abroad for supplies.
Other proposed measures to slow the disease include travel restrictions, voluntary quarantine, closing of schools and the delaying of routine operations.
Screening of people entering the UK is not thought likely to be effective since people could be highly infectious before displaying symptoms.
The World Health Organisation will review arrangements made by European countries, Australia and Canada at a conference in Luxembourg starting tomorrow.
John Reid, the UK health secretary, said yesterday the British response was "cautious but substantial".