Italy Presses EU To Set Up Anti-virals Stockpile On Swine Flu

LUXEMBOURG (AFP)--The Italian government is pressing its European Union partners to consider setting up a strategic stockpile of antivirals and vaccines in the light of the swine flu outbreak, according to a preparatory document for Thursday's meeting of E.U. health ministers obtained by AFP.

Italy also urged the ministers to consider "a joint program of management and purchasing of these products through the establishment of an ad hoc group of national experts."

In the past E.U. countries have rejected proposals to set up jointly run stockpiles of vaccines and medicines.

Spanish Health Minister Trinidad Jiminez, whose country saw the first cases in Europe, said: "We don't consider that the Italian proposal is necessary.

"Each country has sufficient reserves now to be able to follow the recommendations of the WHO (World Health Organization) for the moment," she said.

The hastily arranged meeting in Luxembourg comes as a growing number of European countries announce swine flu with the Netherlands the latest by announcing that a three-year-old child had become the first confirmed case in the country.

The health ministers were also to consider how quickly a vaccine could be developed although experts warn it could be months away.

Ahead of the meeting, Vassiliou met with officials from major vaccine makers such as Baxter International Inc. (BAX), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), Sanofi- Pasteur SA and Novartis Vaccines, a unit of Novartis AG (NVS).

The WHO said earlier this week that there were four laboratories worldwide with work at different stages of development on vaccines.

Draft conclusions for the meeting urged E.U. governments "to closely cooperate together, and with the pharmaceutical industry, in facilitating the development of a pilot vaccine covering the A/H1N1 virus in the shortest possible delay."