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Poor nations need help to fight bird flu
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ATLANTA: Fewer than three dozen nations are capable of the early detection and quick response needed to contain rapidly spreading bird flu and other viruses that could threaten humans, a health official said. Combating the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza, which has killed 103 people worldwide since it re-emerged in 2003, has become critical to governments across the globe because experts fear it could become a pandemic that could kill millions and cause catastrophic economic damage. "Developed countries are in a position to practice satisfactory early detection and rapid response. Worldwide, only 20 to 30 countries are able to do that," said Dr Bernard Vallat, director-general of the World Organization for Animal Health. "All the others, 140 or more, need help." |
Rich countries need to help poorer ones with detection programmes and compensation for farmers to prevent the global spread of "zoonoses," diseases that can spread from animals to humans, Vallat said at the International Conference of Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta. At a January conference in Beijing, governments and organizations pledged US$1.9 billion (RM7 billion) for a global "rapid containment" programme for bird flu. The World Health Organization said on Tuesday bird flu killed five people in Azerbaijan, taking the global death toll to 103 since it re-emerged in late 2003. The virus has spread in recent weeks, pushing into Europe and Africa. The US said it expects to see its first cases this year. |
Scientists say the virus is mutating and could evolve into a form that would pass easily from human to human, potentially causing a pandemic that could kill millions because people would have no immunity. Experts say outbreaks can be contained by early detection and a quick response. US wildlife officials, for example, are monitoring Pacific bird migration routes for signs of bird flu with the hope of tracking infected birds and giving advance warning to US poultry producers. Reuters
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