Controlling Bird Flu Vital to Prevent Pandemic

By Patricia Reaney

GENEVA — World health experts agreed on Tuesday that controlling the spread of avian flu in birds must be the priority, but also called for preparations in case the virus mutates into one that could cause a human pandemic.

"We are not in a pandemic situation. It is still an animal disease," said Margaret Chan, the top WHO pandemic official.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed 64 people in Asia since 2003, including the latest victim, a 35-year-old man in Hanoi. An Indonesian girl has also died with suspected bird flu.

All of the victims have had close contact with birds. So far the H5N1 virus has not shown it can spread easily from person-to-person.

"The control of avian disease is the best way to control a pandemic," said Joseph Domenech, chief veterinary officer of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Public health experts nonetheless agreed countries should take action to protect their people. Chan said the risk to the general public was very low but the signals were worrying.

"Any country that has a good pandemic preparedness plan will minimise or mitigate the risk and impact of a pandemic," she told a meeting at the World Health Organization.

In order for a bird flu virus to become a pandemic strain capable of killing many millions of people it will have to mutate on its own or mix with a human influenza virus.

Chan said the WHO was in talks with drug companies to build up regional supplies of antiviral drugs for poor countries. The drugs will be the first line of defense if a pandemic strain emerges as it will take time to develop a special vaccine.

The global health agency already has a stockpile of 3 million antivirals that can be quickly deployed.

Dr Klaus Stohr, the team coordinator of the WHO’s Global Influenza Programme, said it would be possible to produce 900 million doses of a new vaccine against a pandemic flu 8 months after the strain had been identified.

But the virus could spread around the world in 3-4 months.

"So 900 million in 8 months will not reach the target of global, equitable and timely access. One needs enough vaccine for 6.4 billion people and that is currently not in the cards," he explained.

Stopping the virus from spreading further in birds and strong surveillance and response networks for early detection of a pandemic virus would make a difference, he added.

HOURS COUNT

"If we can reduce the presence of the virus, we will reduce the probability of a human pandemic," Bernard Vallat, the director general of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), said.

Vallat told the second day of the three-day meeting that veterinary services were at the vanguard of the fight against animal diseases, including those transmissible to humans.

He said if an outbreak of bird flu occurred in any country, classic animal health policy should be immediately applied with the subsidised culling of infected or in-contact animals and strict movement curbs introduced for animals and humans.

"Hours count. If you don’t act within 48 hours, the virus can spread and the costs multiply by thousands," Vallat said.

The OIE and U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have set up a network of laboratories and expertise specialised in avian influenza, known as OFFLU, but it needs more funding.

The OIE also said for the early detection and culling policy to work, it was fundamental that there should be "immediate and fair compensation mechanisms for livestock producers."

In those countries unable to mobilize enough resources to stamp out an outbreak by mass culling, the option of vaccination should be considered as a back-up policy, Vallat said.

(Additional reporting by David Evans and Stephanie Nebehay)