AUGUSTA – Maine already has placed its order with the federal government for the maximum number of doses allowed for a drug that could slow the spread of a bird flu pandemic.

Dr. Dora Anne Mills of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said she placed an order for 137,000 doses of Tamiflu well ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. That’s on top of 195,0000 doses the federal government already is providing for Maine.

The additional doses would bring the number of Tamiflu doses for Maine to the level recommended by the World Health Organization, Mills said.

The additional doses would be placed in Maine and controlled by state officials, whereas the doses provided by the federal government could be stockpiled out of state.

“We thought it was just prudent that we have the additional doses, because the additional doses are part of the recommended stockpile,” Mills said. “Second of all, at least we’ll be able to control that it’s accessible to the people in Maine.”

Mills will be requesting $2 million in state funding to purchase the drugs, but the money isn’t due to the federal government until the drugs are delivered, which will be March 2007 at the earliest.