August 23, 2007

 

WHO urges more collaboration to combat infectious diseases

 

 

Infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever before, the World Health Organization said in its annual report.

 

In the report, A Safer Future, the WHO said new diseases are emerging at the "historically unprecedented" rate of one per year and urged increased efforts to combat disease outbreaks, and sharing of virus data to help develop vaccines.

 

Diseases are now more likely to spread when airline travel has become more frequent than ever, the report said.

 

The meant that sharing data has become crucial to curb viruses like bird flu, the WHO said.

 

Ignoring these efforts could mean devastating impacts on the global economy and international security. International public health security is a common goal for all countries and they share a mutual responsibility, it said.

 

Since the 1970s, 39 new diseases have developed, and in the last five years, more than 1,100 epidemics including cholera, polio and bird flu have been identified. 

 

It would be extremely naive to assume that there will not be another disease like Aids, another Ebola, or another Sars, the report said. 

 

Sharing of medical data, skills and technology between rich and poor nations is "one of the most feasible routes" to health security, the report added.

 

The WHO is currently appealing to Indonesia to share  its H5N1 bird flu virus samples.

 

The country has one of the highest incidences of human bird flu deaths but so far it has refused to share its samples with the WHO, fearing that pharmaceutical companies will use them to make expensive vaccines for the country.

 

The fact half the disease outbreaks the WHO knew about came through the media reflected poorly on governments' willingness to share information. 

 

Drug resistance also poses a threat to disease control, the WHO says, blaming misuse of antibiotics and poor medical treatment, particularly in the case of tuberculosis.

 

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said co-operation is crucial to combat outbreaks.

 

Given today's universal vulnerability to these threats, better security calls for global solidarity, she added.