Avian flu jab not expected until 2006

VACCINES to protect against the killer avian flu will not be available in Ireland until early 2006, a senior Department of Health (DoH) official confirmed yesterday.

“We hope to have them as soon as possible,” said DoH principal officer Brian Mullins. “At this stage we would hope to get them possibly early next year. That would be the earliest we would secure them.”

Health experts warn an epidemic of the viral disease - which has travelled from south-east Asia to Siberia - could kill more than 25,000 people in Ireland.