# 841
The target for most countries that are bothering to stockpile antivirals is to have enough for 25% of their nation. A few have exceeded that amount, but most are struggling just to reach that goal.
Here in the United States, we are reportedly still 18 months away from having that quantity of Tamiflu on hand. There are also concerns that the `standard course of treatment', 10 pills over 5 days, is less than half of what is really required.
This from the Straits Times.
S'pore stocked up on bird flu drugs
It has enough doses to treat 25 per cent of population in the event of pandemic
By Shobana Kesava & Liaw Wy-Cin
THE Singapore authorities have completed building up the stockpile of drugs to help combat bird flu, a key component in the battle plan to keep the dreaded disease at bay.
Singapore has bought and received 1.05 million doses of Tamiflu and 50,000 doses of Relenza. The Ministry of Health (MOH) told The Straits Times that together, they are enough to treat 25 per cent of the population in a pandemic.
In addition, as it is free of bird flu, Singapore has been designated the holding centre for another 500,000 doses of Tamiflu for Asean countries.
The H5N1 virus, which causes bird flu, is especially feared now because it has killed over half the more than 300 people infected so far. Although it rarely infects humans, it could mutate into a form that transmits easily from one person to another.
To date, Singapore's bird flu defences have held up.
Seventeen suspected bird flu patients have been reported in Singapore since the start of the year.
None tested positive for bird flu.
