WHO says that bird flu epidemic is worst ever
The scale of the current outbreak of avian influenza, or bird flu, affecting huge swathes of south-east Asia is unprecedented, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Indonesia is the latest country to admit, belatedly, that the disease has been affecting chicken farms throughout the country since last August. So far, millions of birds across the region have been culled in an effort to control the spread of bird flu, and at least seven people have become infected and died. 'Never in history have we seen such outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza over such a wide area,' Klaus Stöhr, a senior virologist at the WHO, told New Scientist. The major fear now is that someone may simultaneously contract bird flu and common influenza, allowing the viruses to hybridise potentially lead to a deadly global pandemic. In an effort to avoid such a scenario, the WHO, along with other health authorities and pharmaceutical companies, met in Geneva, Switzerland, on 27 January to try and agree on measures to halt the spread of the disease. 'With SARS, we learned that only by working together can we control emerging global public health threats,' said Dr. Lee Jong-wook, WHO Director-General 'Now, we confront another threat to human health and we must reaffirm existing collaboration and form new ones.' The WHO would like southern hemisphere countries to give up some of their stockpiled vaccine against common flu in order to vaccinate people slaughtering chickens in south-east Asia, thus reducing the chance that someone will contract both forms of flu at the same time. Finally, the WHO also plans to ask drug companies to test and mass produce a vaccine against pandemic flu, as a precaution against the worst case scenario.