Total Bird Flu Cases Under-reported In China, Indonesia And Africa

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Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Article Date: 31 May 2006 - 10:00 PDT

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China, Indonesia and Africa have more bird flu cases than are actually being reported, says Dr Christianne Bruschke, World Organisation for Animal Health Avian Influenza Coordinator. The main reason is that compensation for lost chickens is very low.

Dr. Bruschke says rich countries should help fund compensation schemes in poorer countries if we really want to know where all the outbreaks are occurring.

Dr. Bruschke said other factors also contribute to under-reporting. In Africa there are still too many people who do not recognize the signs of bird flu. Also, veterinary services are extremely weak and distances can be huge.

Indonesia, a country made up of over 1700 islands and several regional languages, is having a serious problem in dealing with bird flu. Dr. Bruschke says bird flu is becoming more or less endemic in some parts of the country - this makes it hard to report every case.

The problem in China, said Bruschke, is a combination of its sheer size and a poor compensation scheme. However, she stressed China is openly communicating and cooperating with the World Organisation for Animal Health and other international agencies.

In order to combat the spread of bird flu it is important to try to contain outbreaks - keep them from spreading. In order to do this effectively we need to know about every outbreak there is. Otherwise, we could be dedicating resources to some areas, under the impression that everything is under control, while in other unknown areas an outbreak is spreading. It really is a case of the chain being only as strong as its weakest link.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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