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WHO Praises Asian Countries for their Fight Against the Bird Flu

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed its appreciation for the prompt reporting of the latest cases of bird flu by the Asian countries after the disease hit Pakistan and Myanmar. Countries that have shown remarkable results in preventing the virus from spreading uncontrollably.

According to a spokesman for Asia-Pacifi,c Peter Cordingley, “People have learned that hiding cases just makes things worse,” However China, previously accused of hiding its outbreaks, has now reported a 27^th death due to the virus, whereas Indonesia has been greatly affected, with the toll rising to 93 deaths up to this month. Few more cases of bird flu have been reported among chickens in Russia and Germany. The outbreak so far has claimed 200 deaths so far since the reemergence of the virus in the late 2003.

Cordingley has warned of bird flu reappearing this winter saying, “At this time of year, we do expect the virus to be more active in poultry and humans,” He also confirmed that the birds contract a virus similar to the one affecting humans.

Meanwhile, Pakistan official confirmed the first fatality due to the virus, a man who picked the infected birds, died. His brother also expired but was not tested for the virus. However, a seven year old girl from Myanmar became the first confirmed human case there. She now has been discharged from the hospital after showing some recovery. Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos are among other countries, which have reported human infections of bird flu over the year. “This virus is no respecter of borders, so there’s nothing startling about the latest outbreak,” Cordingley said who is based at Manila.

“We have always seen more cases in the cooler months, so there is nothing surprising in the developments in Pakistan and Myanmar,” Cordingley added further.

Two more cases of death reported this month as a 47 year old Indonesian and a 24 year old Chinese man died of the virus. However, the father of a Chinese victim was also diagnosed with the bird flu virus, giving rise to fears of human-to-human infections. The H5N1 strain passes from human to human in very rare cases, but scientists fear that such a transmission can become more widespread resulting in a global pandemic.

Cordingley explains that the outspread of virus is more vulnerable due to the migratory patterns of the birds, however illegal poultry trade is also one of the major factors responsible for the outbreak of the virus in Southeast Asia. He added, “This virus will continue. We cannot fight it on a public health front, it depends on how farmyards and chickens are raised and that is a long-term fight.”

Earlier this month, international donors at a conference in New Delhi have committed to donating a minimum of $400 million in aid to fight the disease. However, this figure falls short of the estimates, as the World Bank requires $1.2 billion for next two to three years to fight the disease.

According to the WHO, 51 deaths have been attributed to the disease in 2007, a number which is less than the 71 deaths in 2006.

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