East Asia leaders vow to boost cooperation to fight bird flu
East Asia leaders vow to boost cooperation to fight bird flu
Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur
Sixteen Asia-Pacific countries pledged on Wednesday to boost
cooperation in the fight against bird flu, saying they will
report all outbreaks rapidly and transparently.
A joint declaration by the 16 heads of governments attending
the inaugural East Asia Summit said they will make every effort
to "enhance national, regional and international capacities" to
prevent bird flu from transforming into a human pandemic.
They also agreed to improve "national policies for prevention
and control of emerging infectious diseases in general," the
statement said.
Most of the 69 deaths and 135 infections from the virus since
2003 have been traced to contact with diseased birds, but experts
fear a global pandemic if H5N1 mutates into a form that spreads
between humans.
The victims of bird flu have mostly been from the region
represented in Wednesday's summit among the 10 countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Japan, South
Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
The statement said the 16 leaders vowed to make every effort
to control and eradicate bird flu in domestic poultry, and
"ensure rapid, transparent and accurate risk communications among
participating countries."
They also agreed to work together to set up a network of
stockpile of antiviral drugs with the technical support of the
World Health Organization and other bodies.
The document reflects concerns that governments may hesitate
in reporting outbreaks of the potentially deadly H5N1 strain in
order to avoid harming tourism and their economies.
China, which last month confirmed its first human cases on its
mainland, has denied covering up its bird flu situation as it was
accused of doing during an outbreak of SARS three years ago.
However, Chinese authorities say they fear incompetent
officials in poor, rural areas may not detect and report cases as
quickly as they should.
Earlier this week, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
announced a US$135 million aid package to help ASEAN countries
fight bird flu.
India said it could lend its expertise in producing generic
drugs to help build regional stockpiles of antiviral medicine.