WHO Expert Warns Short of Drugs for New Influenza Pandemic
Posted on: Wednesday, 24 August 2005, 09:00 CDT
WHO expert warns short of drugs for new influenza pandemic
BANGKOK, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The world is lack of enough drugs to fight a new pandemic of influenza, said a World Health Organization (WHO) expert
"Are we prepared for the next pandemic?" Klaus Stohr, head of WHO's Global Influenza Program, raised the question Monday at an international meeting on epidemiology in Bangkok.
He gave a "No" to his own question at the meeting being held from Sunday to Thursday.
"Three years ago, the European Commission gave me 15 minutes to answer this [same] question, I said I just needed a minute to say 'We are not prepared.' Today the situation has changed very little, " newspaper Nation on Tuesday quoted Stohr as saying.
Many countries don't have a concrete national plan to fight against outbreak of influenza, while it's still possible for such a pandemic to occur again soon.
New human deaths of H5N1 bird flu virus have been reported in Vietnam and Indonesia, and the epidemic is found spread by migratory birds to China, Mongolia and Russia's Siberia.
Neither can the world rely the hope on pharmaceutical solutions, for Tamiflu, the only anti-viral drug potentially effective in treating H5N1, is very limited in production capacity, he said.
Moreover, no human vaccine is currently available.
"Now 27 countries have stockpiled antiviral medicine, but the total amount they have is sufficient to treat only 2 percent of the world population," warned Stohr.
"And [even if a vaccine comes along] 65-70 percent of the global vaccine production is in Europe. The vaccine made by these countries is not going to be for export until domestic demand is satisfied." he said.
Up to 100 million people were killed in the last three global pandemics in 1918, 1957 and 1968.
Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS
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