AH1N1 Vaccine Trials
Begin In Costa Rica; Three More Deaths
Recorded
A total of sixty Costa Ricans where the
first to participate in the AH1N1 vaccine
trials at the Instituto de Atención
Pediátrica on Paseo Colón. The centre will
be testing a total of 784 people during the
coming weeks.
The private clinic will be testing people
between the 3 and 64 years of age testing
the vaccine against the AH1N1 flu virus.
Each participant, according to Dr. Patricia
Víquez Faith and one of the participants in
the trial, is subjected to a physical
examination and blood testing to ensure that
they are healthy.
The director of the clinic, Adriano Arguedas,
said they have all the participants for the
trials, although they will take names for a
waiting list.
Arguedas said the trials are part of a world
wide trial to test the AH1N1 vaccine
developed by the pharmaceutial firm
Novartis, a Swiss company that will be using
the results of 5.000 trials in Costa Rica,
the United States and Mexico.
Novartis is one of six firms making clinical
trials in search of a vaccine against the
AH1N1 virus.
Each person taking part in the trials in
Costa Rica, according to Arguedas, will be
under constant medical attention for the
next three weeks and are covered by medical
insurance.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has
asked the pharmaceuticals to make the AH1N1
testing a priority.
Death Toll
Reaches 31
The number of deaths confirmed due the the
AH1N1 in Costa Rica has risen to 31, with
the death of three men in the last week.
The three men were from San Ramón, Cartago
and Pérez Zeledón.
The viceministra de Salud, Ana Morice, would
only say that the victims were between the
age of 30 and 79.
Morice said that the 30 year old man
suffered from asthma, while the 79 year old
was diabetic. The viceministra said that a
an analysis is underway on the death of the
40 year old.
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