November 11, 2005

 

Second wave of bird flu seen next spring, says EU official

 

 

The head of the EU's disease prevention agency said Thursday the risk of bird flu outbreaks has receded in Europe, but warned a second wave of the deadly H5N1 strain is likely when migrating birds return next spring.

 

"I think this virus was brought to Europe by the migrating birds, and quite likely they have already gone further," said Zsuzsanna Jakab, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

 

"This is one of the reasons why the spread has not continued beyond" Turkey, Romania, Croatia and Russia, where the deadly strain of the virus has been identified in birds.

 

When the birds come back through Europe in the spring, however, "no doubt...we can expect the pop-up of the virus again," Jakab said in an interview. "In the spring, definitely, we have to be prepared for a second wave."

 

She added that while concern among Europeans about bird flu has died down "to a level it deserves," the continent should continue preparing for the eventuality that the virus mutates into a form that can be easily passed to and between people.

 

"We have to be extremely vigilant and continue with preparation for a possible pandemic," she said.

 

Jakab said the only way to keep the virus out of Europe is to help curb it in Asia, where it has swept through flocks and killed at least 64 people since 2003, and she reiterated a call for the EU to give more money to the Asian authorities that are fighting bird flu.

 

"We have to help Asia as much as possible to keep this disease under control, because that is the only possibility for us either to prevent a possible pandemic, or at least to delay the occurrence of a pandemic," Jakab said.

 

The EU also needs to reach out more to neighbouring countries to make sure their national preparedness is up to par with the 25 member nations.

 

"If all the 25 EU countries have a good strategy in place, even then it will not be enough to protect the Europeans if the neighbouring countries don't have an equally good strategy in place," she said.

 

She criticised Russia for not sending its bird flu samples to international laboratories, which she said is mandatory under a World Health Organization agreement.

 

"We all have a moral responsibility to convince (Russia) to send the specimens to the reference laboratories," Jakab said. "Last time they did not share it, so if there is a next occasion in Russia, then we have to...put a lot of pressure to make sure they do that."