Asia faces Bird (avian) Flu pandemic if things do not change soon

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 14 Sep 2004 - 16:00 PDT

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The World Health Organization says that Asia faces a Bird Flu (avian flu) pandemic if things do not change soon. The WHO said that detection and prevention methods need a complete overhaul.

28 people have died in Asia as a result of bird flu.

Health officials said that countries had to cooperate more to fight the resurgence and spread of the virus. In July, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and China witnessed new outbreaks of the virus.

Shigeru Omi, WHO head for the Western Pacific Region, said "This outbreak is historically unprecedented. Its infectious agents don't respect international boundaries."

A great worry, says WHO, is a combination of two factors: Firstly, the virus is much more virulent than originally thought. Secondly, humans are not immune to bird flu.

WHO says that the region needs to improve animal husbandry practices. The combination of poor animal husbandry practices, plus massive movement of people and goods, provide an ideal setting for an explosion of bird flu.

If the virus were to mix with a human one and become infectious from human to human, an epidemic would seize the region quickly and tragically, say experts.

Last weekend Malaysia identified three new cases.

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