Bird flu virus unlikely to be eradicated soon, warn global bodies
submited by kickingbird at Sep, 28, 2004 7:46 AM from Channel News Asia,燬ingapore
ROME : The bird flu epidemic in Asia is a "crisis of global importance" and the virus is unlikely to be eradicated soon, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) warned.
The two global bodies jointly warned that avian influenza hitting the region would "continue to demand the attention of the international community for some time to come". "Recent outbreaks in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand show that the virus continues to circulate in the region and will not probably be eradicated in the near future," the two organisations said.
The warning came as Thai officials confirmed that a woman who had been in contact with dead chickens had caught bird flu. She was the second Thai confirmed with the deadly H5N1 form of the virus in the second wave of the disease that has hit the region.
The two organisations also said more research was urgently needed as the role of wildlife, domestic ducks and pigs in transmitting the virus among animals was still not fully understood.
"A permanent threat to animal and human health continues to exist," the joint statement said, announcing new FAO recommendations drawn up in collaboration with the OIE.
Responding to recent controversy over vaccination against bird flu, the OIE and FAO reiterated that the slaughter of infected animals was the best way of controlling and ultimately stamping out the disease.
But they acknowledged that this policy may not be practical or adequate in certain countries because of social and economic reasons, or because the virus is in remote villages or wild birds or domestic waterfowl.
"In such cases, countries wishing to eradicate the disease may choose to use vaccination as a complementary measure," the statement added.
Bird flu has killed at least nine people in Thailand and 19 in Vietnam this year.
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The two global bodies jointly warned that avian influenza hitting the region would "continue to demand the attention of the international community for some time to come". "Recent outbreaks in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand show that the virus continues to circulate in the region and will not probably be eradicated in the near future," the two organisations said.
The warning came as Thai officials confirmed that a woman who had been in contact with dead chickens had caught bird flu. She was the second Thai confirmed with the deadly H5N1 form of the virus in the second wave of the disease that has hit the region.
The two organisations also said more research was urgently needed as the role of wildlife, domestic ducks and pigs in transmitting the virus among animals was still not fully understood.
"A permanent threat to animal and human health continues to exist," the joint statement said, announcing new FAO recommendations drawn up in collaboration with the OIE.
Responding to recent controversy over vaccination against bird flu, the OIE and FAO reiterated that the slaughter of infected animals was the best way of controlling and ultimately stamping out the disease.
But they acknowledged that this policy may not be practical or adequate in certain countries because of social and economic reasons, or because the virus is in remote villages or wild birds or domestic waterfowl.
"In such cases, countries wishing to eradicate the disease may choose to use vaccination as a complementary measure," the statement added.
Bird flu has killed at least nine people in Thailand and 19 in Vietnam this year.
- GISAID: H5N1 Bird Flu continues to take its toll in the United States, also affecting British Columbia in Canada 8 hours ago
- USCDC: A(H5N1) Bird Flu Response Update November 18, 2024 3 days ago
- US: Avian influenza confirmed in backyard flock of birds in Hawaii 6 days ago
- GISAID: H5N1 Bird Flu Circulating in Dairy Cows and Poultry in the United States 6 days ago
- China: Samples from Mai Po Nature Reserve test positive for H5N1 virus in Hong Kong S.A.R 8 days ago
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