September 22, 2005

WHO says Asia needs reform in farming practices against bird flu

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Asia needed to reform its traditional farming practices, to control the spread of bird flu by reducing contact between people and poultry.

Bird flu has already hit Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, China and Japan over recent years. So far, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus had killed over 60 people in four Asian countries, which sparked global fears of a deadly pandemic.

The WHO said the spread of bird flu in Asia over the past two years had correlated with areas of high populations, and high human-to-poultry contact.

Bird flu had hit hard Asian countries such as Vietnam, where poultry were farmed in backyards and farmers lived in close contact with chickens and ducks, the WHO said.

The WHO said that while Western Europe had equally dense poultry populations, the region did not experience the same level of diseases as Asia.

Globalisation which allowed greater movement of goods and people in Asia, had also contributed to the spread of diseases such as bird flu in the continent, the WHO added.

There was also a need for countries to have good early warning systems for contagious diseases, the WHO said.