World must act on bird flu or face pandemic: UN<\/p>\n
Darren Schuettler, Reuters\/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam<\/p>\n
The world is overdue an influenza pandemic and it must act
\nswiftly to prevent one being triggered by bird flu now endemic in
\nparts of Asia where it has killed 46 people, UN officials said on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
The world usually had a flu pandemic every 20 or 30 years, but
\nit has been 40 since the last one.<\/p>\n
\"The world is now in the gravest possible danger of a
\npandemic,\" Shigeru Omi, the head of the World Health Organization
\n(WHO) in Asia, said at a bird-flu conference in Vietnam, the
\ncountry hardest hit by the H5N1 virus.<\/p>\n
Omi said it was \"highly likely\" the bird flu virus that swept
\nthrough large parts of Asia from the end of 2003 would be the
\nsource of the next one, unless concerted action was taken.<\/p>\n
Joseph Domenech of the Rome-based Food and Agriculture
\nOrganization (FAO) called on rich countries to do more.<\/p>\n
\"If they don't do more, sooner or later the problem could
\nappear in their place,\" he told reporters in Ho Chi Minh City,
\nhome to 10 million people and close to the Mekong river delta
\nwhere Vietnam's latest outbreaks began in December.<\/p>\n
\"The ball is on their side,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The latest outbreak in Vietnam has killed 13 people. All, like
\nearlier victims, appear to have contracted it from direct contact
\nwith sick birds.<\/p>\n
But what these experts fear is the H5N1 virus could get into a
\nhuman or animal with a human flu virus and mutate into a strain
\nthat could sweep through a world population with no immunity and
\nkill millions.<\/p>\n
At the first bird flu summit in Bangkok last year, experts
\nspoke confidently about eradicating the virus.<\/p>\n
They now say it could take many years to eliminate and a huge
\neffort is needed just to contain a disease that has jumped to a
\nrange of animals including cats, leopards and now flies.<\/p>\n
Omi said Tuesday's news that Japanese researchers had found
\nflies infected with bird flu last year showed the virus was
\n\"versatile and resilient\".<\/p>\n
The conference, which ends on Friday, will review how Asian
\ngovernments have fared against the stubborn virus and plot a
\nbattle plan.<\/p>\n
Bird flu has already devastated poultry flocks in worst-hit
\nVietnam and Thailand, where most people live in the countryside
\nand keep chickens, which are often free to wander and mingle with
\npeople and other livestock.<\/p>\n
Nearly 140 million birds have been slaughtered or died in the
\nAsian epidemic, and the financial cost is already up to $10
\nbillion, according to some estimates.<\/p>\n
Domenech said affected countries will need hundreds of
\nmillions of dollars from donors to sustain a prolonged fight
\nagainst the disease.<\/p>\n
Host Vietnam, where bird flu resurfaced in 35 of 64 provinces,
\nhas ramped up surveillance systems and imposed tough restrictions
\non poultry movements.<\/p>\n
But like many poor countries hit by bird flu, it has limited
\nknowledge of the virus, its veterinary staff need training and
\nits labs are poorly equipped.<\/p>\n
\"In order to prevent and control the disease efficiently,
\ninternational cooperation should be strengthened,\" Vietnam's
\nAgriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat told the conference.<\/p>\n
A central issue in Ho Chi Minh City will be how to overhaul
\nage-old methods of farming in Asia -- where families live cheek-
\nby-jowl with chickens and ducks that roam freely in farmyards,
\nspreading the virus.<\/p>\n
Public awareness campaigns about the health risks of bird flu
\nare running in several affected countries. But traditional
\npractices, such as drinking raw duck blood, still go on.<\/p>\n
Experts and government officials agree the task will be huge,
\ncostly and may be impossible.<\/p>\n
\"It's a rural disease and people have diehard traditions that
\nare difficult to change,\" said Omi.<\/p>",
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