March 15, 2004

WHO Warns Against Complacency Against Bird Flu

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the bird flu crisis is far from over even though it appears to have been contained.

"We are now entering what may be one of the most dangerous periods of the outbreak - when governments might be tempted to declare the crisis over and lower their guard. It is far too early for that," Peter Cordingley, spokesman for the WHO's Western Pacific office in Manila, said.

"Past experience shows that it could take months, probably years to eliminate the virus from the environment. While the virus is still out there, it will always have the potential to cause a new flare-up." Desperate to restart its US$1.2 billion (RM4.56 billion) poultry industry, Thailand is planning to announce this week it is free of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza that killed seven people in the kingdom.

Vietnam, which in human terms is the worst affected of the eight Asian countries where H5N1 was detected, accounting for 15 of the 22 deaths in the region, has targeted the end of the month to declare itself rid of the virus.

But Anton Rychener, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)'s operations in the communist nation, says he is worried that Hanoi may be sweeping the disease under the carpet.

"Information sharing between the international community and the Vietnamese Government has been less than satisfactory over the past month," he said.

His concern was echoed by Joseph Domenech, head of the FAO's Animal Health Service at its Rome headquarters, who says countries must be absolutely certain that infected zones are free from infection before making any declarations.

"In the battle against the disease, there are definitely some improvements. But we fear that the virus may continue to circulate in the environment even without an outbreak or any clinical signs in animals," he said on Friday.

Officially, declarations that a country is bird flu-free can only be made by the World Organisation for Animal Health after a 21-day surveillance period with no new outbreaks.

Only Vietnam and Thailand have so far announced a date by which they will claim victory over the virus that resulted in the deaths or culling of an estimated 100 million birds in the region.

Without pointing any fingers, Cordingley says he is concerned by the rush to lift quarantine orders and restock devastated poultry flocks.

"Rushing now, without proper safeguards, to restock farms and resume trading would also be shortsighted. Getting poultry industries back to their pre-outbreak levels should be seen as a gradual process," he said.