“Don’t panic about bird flu,” say top officials

By David Ljunggren and Pascal Pinck

OTTAWA (Reuters) – People should not panic about a possible
influenza pandemic despite the steady spread of a deadly strain
of avian flu among humans, leading health officials and
politicians said on Tuesday.

More than 60 people in Southeast Asia have died of bird flu
and the avian outbreak has made its way to Europe. Experts say
the world is overdue for a flu pandemic and predict the most
likely cause will be an animal strain which mutates.

Despite increasing public nervousness, Margaret Chan,
assistant director-general of the World Health Organization,
said the general population should remember it is relatively
hard to catch bird flu.

“We are not in a pandemic yet and I don’t want the
community to have unnecessary anxiety,” she told Reuters
Television in an interview.

Chan and Canadian officials said the public should
understand there are clear differences between avian flu,
seasonal flu and a pandemic which could kill tens of millions.

“We are taking very drastic actions to reduce the risk of
avian influenza to animals and birds,” said Chan, who was in
Ottawa to address a major international conference on combating
future pandemics.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin told delegates that the
global fight against a flu pandemic could be undermined if
governments fail to prevent mass panic in the event of
widespread fatalities.

“Among the most profound challenges we face is
communication with our own citizens. Public fear, and bad
information, could all too easily snowball into panic,” Martin
said.

“It would complicate our collective response to a pandemic
immeasurably and magnify its potential impact,” he said.

“Our best antidote will be clear, honest and consistent
assessment of the risks we face, the ability to swiftly gather
information, and to speak with one voice in frank and
constructive terms — early and continuously.”

Thousands of Italian poultry farmers demonstrated in
northeastern cities on Tuesday, demanding action against
“irrational fear” over bird flu, which has cut national
consumption of chicken by more than half.

David Butler-Jones, Canada’s public health officer, said
avian flu had shown no signs yet of turning into a human virus
and warned against stockpiling antiviral drugs like Tamiflu.

“Once we do see a general pandemic — which we have not —
we don’t know for sure to what extent antivirals will be
effective,” he told a news conference. “A pandemic of influenza
could be in one year, it could be in 20 years.”

Martin said a pandemic would require unprecedented
coordination and cooperation among countries.

“Our planning and preparation for a pandemic will
inarguably help to put us in a better position to respond to
other emerging diseases, to natural disasters and to threats of
bioterrorism we may face in the future,” he said.

A vaccine against a future flu pandemic will not be
available until scientists identify the exact strain.

Mexican Health Minister Julio Frenk said the best way to
ensure sufficient vaccines in a pandemic was to transfer the
necessary technology now to nations such as Mexico, India,
China and Brazil.