Singapore: Taiwan-based Adimmune has highlighted that it can begin supplying vaccines against the current strain of H7N9 bird flu virus by mid-July.

Mr Steve Chan, chairman, Adimmune, revealed that the company has applied with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to acquire vaccine strains and expects delivery by the end of May. Adimmune can produce five million-to-10 million doses of H7N9 vaccine, six-to-eight weeks after it obtains the vaccine strains.

Although the virus has so far not been found in Taiwan, there are concerns it could spread, given the large number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan and Taiwanese people visiting the mainland.