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Roundup: EU Calls for Int'L Cooperation Amid Worldwide Precautions Against Bird Flu

Posted on: Thursday, 20 October 2005, 09:00 CDT

Roundup: EU calls for int'l cooperation amid worldwide precautions against bird flu

LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) foreign ministers Tuesday called for international cooperation to tackle the threat of avian flu, as nations across the world are taking preventive measures against the deadly disease.

"The EU Council recognized that avian and pandemic influenza are global threats and called for an international coordinated response," said a statement issued by the ministers after an emergency meeting.

Foreign ministers from all EU member states gathered on Tuesday in Luxembourg to discuss precautionary measures against bird flu, after the first appearance of the deadly disease in Greece on Monday.

The foreign ministers said the EU could not act effectively on its own in tackling a threat that could move so quickly across countries and continents.

The ministers said they appreciate the efforts of such international organizations as the World Health Organization (WHO), United Natios Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Bank to prepare a UN meeting in Geneva on Nov. 7-9 to tackle the issue.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who chaired Tuesday's meeting, said the discovery of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Turkey and Romania was no cause for panic.

"So far there is no evidence of any transfer of the virus to human beings. Let us hope that remains the situation," Straw told a news conference after the meeting.

In spite of some countries and government officials' efforts to play down the threat of the disease, scientists fear that if the H5N1 virus, which has killed more than 60 people in Asia since it first appeared there in 1997, passes from birds to humans on a large scale, it could mutate into a variety that could spread easily between humans.

In a virulent form, they say, this could kill millions worldwide.

The latest surge of the virus has stirred up fears across the world and many nations have launched campaigns to raise people's guard against the killing agent.

In the United States, officials at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) are devising plans that could put hundreds of passengers into quarantine on the airfield for days to prevent the spread of bird flu.

Federal officials could order travelers on a flight confined, if they suspect one of them is infected with the deadly disease.

Meanwhile, many nations have announced plans to start large- scale vaccinations against the avian flu.

Serbian Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic said that from Nov. 1, all the 150 health centers in Serbia will begin vaccination against avian flu.

Sweden is considering producing its own vaccines against avian flu, said Minister for Public Health and Social Services Morgan Johansson.

He said in the face of a possible pandemic, the government will subsidize a private company to make them, or embark on a Nordic cooperation.

The Greek government announced that it will increase its stockpile of vaccines and drugs against a possible human flu by ordering 280,000 extra units of vaccines.

These will add to its existing stocks of 25,000 flu vaccines in a bid to prevent an outburst of pandemic after Greece became the first EU country struck by bird flu.

The stock of antiviral flu drug Tamiflu in Bulgaria was almost empty as many Bulgarians rushed to buy it these days despite a high price between 51.3 to 56.7 levs (between 32 and 35 US dollars) a dose.

Several countries and regions like Kenya and Palestine have banned imports of birds, poultry and their related products from areas affected by the virus.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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