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"Don't panic about bird flu," say top officials

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 October 2005, 13:47 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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