Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Asia must share bird flu virus, vaccine -Australia

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Asia must share bird flu virus, vaccine -Australia

    Asia must share bird flu virus, vaccine -Australia

    07 Jun 2007 08:34:03 GMT


    By Michael Perry

    SYDNEY, June 7 (Reuters) - Australia called on Asia-Pacific nations on Thursday not to let commercial or national interests stand in the way of creating bird flu vaccines before a pandemic breaks out.

    "I want to stress that disease does not respect national borders," Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott said at the opening of the 2007 APEC Health Ministers' conference in Sydney.

    "It is vital that we do not let commercial self-interest or national pride stand in the way of an affective regional and ultimately global response to this problem."

    There have been 188 deaths globally from the H5N1 bird flu virus since late 2003 and 310 known infections in total, according to World Health Organisation data.

    Indonesia has recorded 79 human deaths from bird flu, the highest in the world.

    Abbott said the biggest problem facing the Asia-Pacific was the production of a vaccine before a pandemic broke out. "A pre-pandemic vaccine is probably the biggest single challenge we face at the moment, that is why virus sharing is so important," said Abbott.

    "I am very pleased that Indonesia has resumed virus sharing. It is very important for the whole world that we do have H5N1 samples for close study and analysis if we are going to be able to produce the vaccines that we may need."

    Sharing samples is deemed vital to see if viruses have mutated, become drug resistant or grown more transmissible. The samples are also used to develop commercial vaccines.

    Indonesia said on Wednesday the H5N1 virus might have undergone a mutation that allows it to jump more easily from poultry to humans, but stressed the findings were preliminary.

    The country said last month it had resumed sharing samples with the WHO after a five-month hiatus.

    Along with other developing nations, Indonesia has been demanding guarantees that they will have access to affordable vaccines in the event of a pandemic.

    China shared human bird flu samples for the first time in more than a year, the World Health Organisation said last week.

    China has previously complained that samples it sent to WHO-affiliated laboratories in 2004 were used in research that failed to acknowledge the contribution of Chinese scientists, in a breach of protocol for which the U.N. agency has apologised.

    "DON'T BE COMPLACENT"

    Abbott said Australia had not yet created a bird flu vaccine stockpile, but would encourage the sharing of any vaccine with countries hit by a pandemic, just as it has helped neighbouring Indonesia stockpile anti-virals.

    "I think it is important that we work out fair international arrangements for ensuring that we don't get a situation where some countries get the disease and some countries get the vaccine," he said.

    "It is easier for countries like Australia, Britain and America to pledge vaccines than it is for poorer countries such as Indonesia," he said.

    Indonesia has been struggling to contain the disease because millions of backyard chickens live in close proximity to humans across the archipelago.

    Bird flu is endemic in poultry in many parts of Indonesia and contact with sick fowl is the most common way humans become infected with bird flu.

    But scientists are worried about the virus's persistence and ability to adapt to new environments and hosts, fearing this increases the chances of the virus mutating into a form that can jump easily between people, triggering a pandemic.

    "I think people have become a little complacent about the risk of a pandemic. It is still very real but it is not something that is going to happen tomorrow," he said.

    Australia has spent almost A$600 million (US$500 million) on pandemic preparedness, said Abbott, adding a pandemic in Australia could potentially kill 48,000 people, see a further 150,000 hospitalised and seven million seek medical attention. ($1 = A$1.19)

    The intelligence, technology, and human expertise you need to find trusted answers.
    ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
    Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

    ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~
Working...
X