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World Must Unite to Fight Flu: Chinese Health Minister

Posted on: Friday, 28 October 2005, 09:01 CDT

World must unite to fight flu: Chinese health minister

OTTAWA, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Health Minister Gao Qiang has called on the world to unite in fighting avian flu and a possible human flu, saying it is not difficult to conquer the disease once all countries work together.

The biggest achievement of the Ottawa meeting on pandemic preparedness is the consensus on broad global cooperation, Gao Qiang told a press conference Tuesday at the end of the meeting.

Strengthening cooperation is necessary in all international issues, especially in responding to a pandemic, as infectious diseases know no national boundaries. If they take place in one country, other places will have them in a short time, the minister said.

"China calls for enhanced cooperation between all countries, between governments and international organizations, between governments and enterprises, and all non-governmental agencies, so as to form a strong united front against the disease," the minister said. "When the world is united, it is not difficult to conquer the disease."

Talking about the development of effective anti-viral drug, the minister said China has very effective medicine for human flu such as Banlangen, a traditional Chinese medicine extracted from a plant.

China has purchased Tamiflu from Roche, the patent holder of the anti-viral drug, as the country is unable to produce it now, the minister said. He urged Roche to loosen regulations so that more countries could start producing the medicine.

Health ministers and officials from 30 countries and eight UN organizations gathered in Ottawa to discuss responses to the avian flu epidemic and a possible pandemic of human flu.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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