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Hungary Says Bird-Flu Shot Works, Nations Interested (Update1)
Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Hungarian officials said their vaccine that's shown promise against bird flu has drawn interest from countries including the U.S. and Germany that are seeking ways to avert a possible pandemic.

Hungary's health commissioner Mihaly Kokeny today said in an interview on Hungarian television that a vaccine tested in 100 volunteers, including himself and Health Minister Jeno Racz, may protect against the current H5N1 avian strain that killed at least 60 people in Asia and was found in birds in Romania, Turkey and Russia. The country plans to make doses to inoculate its citizens and sell to other nations, health officials said.

``We can say with 100 percent certainty that the vaccine spurred antibodies against the H5N1 strain,'' Kokeny said today on a morning talk show.

Fears that virus could lead to a human pandemic have prompted governments to build stockpiles of flu drugs and pursue research into new vaccines. European Union Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou yesterday said he is proposing a 1 billion euro fund for purchases of bird-flu medicines.

Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, Mongolia and the U.K. have also indicated an interest in Hungary's vaccine, government spokesman Andras Batiz said.

French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA has come up with a vaccine that has been shown in tests to be effective against the H5N1 virus. The company has a $100 million contract to produce the vaccine for the U.S., the only country with a contract for the drugmaker's bird-flu shot.