tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged the international community to step up global efforts to fight future pandemics, warning another outbreak is just a matter of time.
Over 100 international health experts from some 30 countries converged on Mexico City this week to discuss how authorities can help stave-off another animal to human epidemic spreading over the world.
Headed by the WHO and with the support of Mexico's government, the three-day conference entitled "Health Risks in Human-Animal Ecosystems" aims to establish a co-ordinated globalresponse to deal better with future outbreaks and human infections from animal species.
With a stark warning for conference participants that another deadly pandemic is a matter of when and not if, WHO Assistant Director-General of Health Security and Environment Keiji Fukuda urged the world to speed up efforts on an action plan against future contagion.
"We do face the risk of another pandemic in the future. We know that the viruses which can cause influenza pandemic circulate in animals and then we don't know when one of those viruses then becomes highly infectious for people and then spreads around the world. We also don't know when something like that happens, which we do expect in the future someday, when something like that happens we don't know how severe the effect will be," he said.
With recent Swine Flu and Bird Flu outbreaks originating in developing countries, the focus of the conference has been on how to equip impoverished countries better with the necessary resources to handle and contain the transmission of diseases from animal to person.
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http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/98c72780491a8185906db997212f5526/WHO-warns-of-new-pandemic--20111118
Over 100 international health experts from some 30 countries converged on Mexico City this week to discuss how authorities can help stave-off another animal to human epidemic spreading over the world.
Headed by the WHO and with the support of Mexico's government, the three-day conference entitled "Health Risks in Human-Animal Ecosystems" aims to establish a co-ordinated globalresponse to deal better with future outbreaks and human infections from animal species.
With a stark warning for conference participants that another deadly pandemic is a matter of when and not if, WHO Assistant Director-General of Health Security and Environment Keiji Fukuda urged the world to speed up efforts on an action plan against future contagion.
"We do face the risk of another pandemic in the future. We know that the viruses which can cause influenza pandemic circulate in animals and then we don't know when one of those viruses then becomes highly infectious for people and then spreads around the world. We also don't know when something like that happens, which we do expect in the future someday, when something like that happens we don't know how severe the effect will be," he said.
With recent Swine Flu and Bird Flu outbreaks originating in developing countries, the focus of the conference has been on how to equip impoverished countries better with the necessary resources to handle and contain the transmission of diseases from animal to person.
...
http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/98c72780491a8185906db997212f5526/WHO-warns-of-new-pandemic--20111118