December 3, 2004

 

 

Bird Flu in Asia to Incur $130 Billion in Losses

 

Asia is expecting to see a total of $130 billion worth of bird flu damage by 2005. This comes amid growing calls to launch a global network to prevent another outbreak of the highly contagious avian disease as well as other epidemics.

 

In response to such needs, the 2004 International Conference on Zoonoses will take place in Seoul on Friday, as part of steps to establish a network against epidemics. The conference is the first of its kind in Asia.

 

Most new epidemics occurring in the past 30 years, such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and bird flu, have affected both humans and animals.

 

Around 170 epidemic experts across the globe will participate in the conference. They include officials from the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation as well as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States.

 

"Through the international symposium, we seek to prepare a global network for efficient cooperation against epidemics in order to minimize damages from the diseases,'' according to a Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) official.

 

According to the Oxford Economic Forecasting, bird flu is expected to cause $60 billion worth of damage to China alone till next year since 2003, with $130 billion worth of damage to Asian nations as a whole, said Hur Young-joo, an official from the MOHW.

 

South Korea has destroyed 5.29 million heads of fowls worth 150 billion won due to the avian influenza, since the first bird flu case in the nation was reported in December last year. With losses in tourism and trade, the nation took care of damage equivalent to 0.6 percent of the gross domestic product in 2003 alone.

 

South Korea has been classified as free from the bird epidemic as there has been no case of the disease for more than six months since March this year. However there still remains a possibility that the disease could re-emerge in the nation.

 

The Korean quarantine authorities have strengthened prevention measures, but the efforts will not be effective without international cooperation, the MOHW official said.

 

WHO Director General Lee Jong-wook has also warned there is a high possibility that the avian disease may recur and spread around the world next year.

 

If bird flu breaks out again, it may cause the death of up to 100 million people worldwide all within a few weeks of the outbreak, according to the WHO.

 

The Korean government has designated the November-February period as a special alert period for the epidemic.