ATHENS, Oct. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Greek Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis said on Monday the government had placed an order for the special drugs used in the treatment of bird flu and to cope with an influenza pandemic, and was thus fully prepared to deal with any emergency that might arise.
Kaklamanis said that 200,000 boxes and 250,000 kilos of a special antibiotic powder recommended for bird flu had been ordered, as well as other drugs against the epidemics.
The minister said that Greece was one of the few countries to have a draft national action plan for a flu pandemic, which will be given its final form in mid-November by the ministries involved, while the EU will also deal with the issue during an informal meeting of EU health ministers' in London on October 20 to discussthe issue.
He noted that it had affected just 116 people over two years ina population of two billion, adding that the problem lay in the high mortality rate for the disease, which has so far killed 60 people.
He underlined that the ordinary flu vaccine gave no protection from bird flu and no vaccine for bird flu currently exists.
He said that there was no need for anyone apart from the usual vulnerable groups to get flu vaccinations.
Government officials disclosed that a WHO-recommended batch of vaccinations aimed at preventing the mutation of the bird flu virus and its transmission to humans is due to arrive in Athens next week.
Prefectural health officials across northern Greece were on high alert in the wake of a recent confirmation of bird flu cases -- the first ever in the wider region -- in neighboring Turkey and Romania. Enditem
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