Pharmaceutical companies say they are preparing to produce as many as 120 million doses of flu vaccine for the next flu season.

The increased production aims put an end to problems faced due to the shortage of vaccines for the past several years. In the 2004-05 flu season bacterial contamination led to the shutdown of a British factory that was to manufacture almost half the supply to the US.

Vaccine makers said at a flu vaccine conference sponsored by the American Medical Association and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention that the increase was for better government reimbursement for shots and public fears of avian flu. They further indicated that the federal health officials may recommend flu shots for nearly everyone in the future.

GlaxoSmithKline, which produced 7.5 million doses of flu vaccine for the current flu season, said it expected to distribute 20 million to 30 million for next season. The company recently acquired plants in Canada and Pennsylvania and is expanding its plants in Dresden, Germany. Sanofi Pasteur set up a vaccine plant in Pennyslaivania last July to double the capacity of that company.

Five per cent to 20 per cent of the population gets the flu each year, with the disease leading to 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalisations.

About 86 million doses of vaccine were produced for the current season in the United States, as compared to 61 million for last season.

Flu vaccinations are currently recommended by the disease control centres for groups most at risk of complications, including the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. These recommendations could be expanded to include most children, informed officials from the centres.