November 7, 2005

 

EU to give Asia EUR30 million to fight bird flu

 

The European Union would give EUR30 million to help Asia fight bird flu, its health commissioner said Monday.

 

Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou is in Vietnam as part of a 10-day tour through Southeast Asia, to discuss efforts to contain the deadly strain of bird flu that has recently spread from Asia to Europe.

 

"The EU should have reacted more quickly to help Southeast Asia to tackle the problem," Kyprianou said during talks in Hanoi with Vietnamese Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat. "It's better late than never. ... The EU is interested in cooperating with Asia to solve the problem."

 

Kyprianou, who arrived in Vietnam on Sunday for a three-day visit, planned to discuss measures being taken by each country to contain the spread of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. He is also to visit Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia.

 

Since late 2003, bird flu has ravaged poultry stocks across Asia and jumped from birds to humans. At least 62 people have died. Most of the human deaths have been traced to close contact with infected birds, but experts feared the virus could mutate into a form easily passed among humans and possibly spark a global pandemic.

 

The H5N1 strain has recently been discovered in Turkey, Romania and Russia.

 

Kyprianou said he had come to find out what the EU could do to help the region fight bird flu.

 

"We can find common actions for the problem," he said, adding that countries in the region should concentrate on medium and long-term measures.

 

Kyprianou said the EU money would be allocated after a three-day strategy meeting in Geneva starting Monday that brings together more than 300 scientists, public and animal health experts, government representatives and others.

 

Bird flu has killed or forced the cull of more than 100 million birds in Asia. Vietnam has been hardest hit, with more than 45 million birds dead, and 41 human deaths.

 

Phat told Kyprianou that fighting bird flu has become a top priority for the country.

 

"We are at the threshold of a new flu season. We are worried about the reemergence of wide-scale bird flu outbreaks among poultry," he said.

 

Most of Vietnam's human bird flu cases and deaths have occurred between November and March.

 

Despite Vietnam's determination to wipe out bird flu, the country was still facing many difficulties in dealing with the disease, Phat said.

 

The biggest challenge is how to deal with Asia's common practice of "backyard farming," he said. An estimated 65 percent of Vietnam's 12 million farming households raised poultry in their backyards, close to humans. With weak epidemic surveillance and limited government funds, it was difficult for Vietnam to control the spread of bird flu, he said.

 

Phat asked the EU for more help in personnel training and more funds for the purchase of equipment and protective gear for health workers.

 

Kyprianou praised Vietnam for the steps it has taken to fight bird flu, but also urged more coordination within government agencies.

 

Phat said eight Cabinet members, including three deputy prime ministers, would be sent to the provinces this week to inspect how measures were being implemented.

 

In northern Bac Giang province, where bird flu outbreaks were reported in three villages last week, 48,000 chickens were culled over the last four days, said Hoang Van Huyen, the provincial director of animal health.

 

Another 10,000 poultry would be culled Monday from the three villages, he said.

 

Huyen also said some 100,000 baby ducks and geese raised illegally in the province would be culled this week. In May, the government banned the raising of ducks and geese, which could carry the bird flu virus without showing signs of illness.