On Jun. 15, 2008, Australia announced it had approved the first locally made vaccine to protect humans from future bird flu, giving the nod to Panvax manufactured by CSL. Three randomised, double-blind clinical studies were conducted to assess the safety of the vaccine in adults aged 18-64, and older adults aged 65 years and over

Experts feared the H5N1 virus, which had led to the slaughter of many poultry populations worldwide, could mutate into a form easily spread among people and spark a pandemic. The virus had killed 241 people in a dozen countries since 2003.