WHO Experts Discuss Plan for Curbing Potential Human Pandemic
Posted on: Tuesday, 7 March 2006, 09:02 CST
WHO experts discuss plan for curbing potential human pandemic
GENEVA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) opened a technical meeting here on Monday to discuss how to sharpen plans for preventing the bird flu from becoming a pandemic disease among people.
The three-day meeting of world flu experts aims at drawing up a rapid response strategy, namely an operational guide, for the WHO and other public health authorities in the event of an influenza pandemic emerging.
Bird flu is unprecedented in scope as an animal disease and requires further sharpening of plans to keep it from becoming widespread among people, Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO special adviser on avian influenza, told experts at Monday's meeting.
She said the H5N1 strain still cannot easily infect people at this stage, but when humans do catch it, it is "a very serious disease affecting multiple organs."
The disease has killed 94 people worldwide since 2003.
According to a WHO press release, the meeting will focus on three areas: operations (including the logistics), surveillance and epidemiology and public health measures (quarantines, antiviral medicines, social distancing measures, etc.)
More than 30 experts in a variety of disciplines including epidemiology, virology, public health and laboratory issues will discuss how the WHO and global public health community might effectively contain the transmission of a pandemic virus at its source.
Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS
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