22/08/06
The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus, or bird flu, continues
to threaten people, animals and economies in a growing number of
countries, according to FAO, despite numerous successful efforts
in several countries to contain the spread of the virus.
Though the disease has now been confirmed in some 55 countries
in Africa, Asia and Europe, up from 45 in April this year, the
rate of infection among poultry has slowed in most countries, according
to FAO surveillance reports, thanks to programmes and projects
to improve surveillance efforts, strengthen veterinary services
and in some cases through the implementation of vaccination campaigns.
The deadly virus continues to spread in Asia, particularly in
Indonesia where 45 people were confirmed to have died from bird
flu. There have also been new outbreaks in Thailand recently and
HPAI has been confirmed at a commercial poultry farm in Laos.
HPAI is also problematic in some African countries including Côte
d’Ivoire and Nigeria, where FAO’s Emergency Prevention
System reports outbreaks in poultry farms near Abeokuta, the capital
of Nigeria’s southwestern state of Ogun.
Caucasus and southern Balkans called high-risk areas
“In Europe, we believe the southern Balkan area and Caucasus
are a high-risk region for H5N1,” said Juan Lubroth, head
of FAO’s Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal
Diseases. “The region is not only a prime resting ground
for migratory bird species, but poultry production is mostly characterized
by rural and household husbandry with little in terms of biosecurity
and strong regulatory inspection. In Romania it is still too early
to say if the situation has stabilized.”
The bodies of two cats collected in Erbil, Iraq where 51 chickens
died, tested positive with a distinct strain of the H5N1 virus
first found in migrating birds in Qinghai Lake in western China
in mid-2005. This is the first report of a Qinghai-like virus being
detected in domestic cats, according to an FAO HPAI Situation Update.
Weak veterinary services must be improved
“We don’t expect to eradicate the H5N1 virus from
possible wild bird reservoirs, but we can contain and control it
fully in the poultry sector, which is the best insurance we have
that it will not mutate into a virus that is easily transmissible
among humans,” says Joseph Domenech, Chief Veterinary Officer
of FAO. “But, just like a chain with a weak link, we need
to find the weak links in the global effort to contain H5N1 and
strengthen them. That means building up veterinary and laboratory
services in the poorer countries of the world, where public services
are hampered by a general lack of funds,” says Domenech.
“This is why FAO is putting so much emphasis on bringing
veterinary and laboratory services up to speed; thanks to donor
contributions, FAO is able to respond to short term needs of affected
and at risk countries, but this effort needs to be sustained in
the long term in order to strengthen veterinary services and rehabilitate
the animal production sector and the food industry," according
to Domenech, “while a more developmental approach is required
to resolve structural and institutional limitations.”
Long-term funding needed for long-term problem
FAO has received a considerable amount of funding from donor countries,
which has helped the Organization’s efforts to slow and contain
the spread of HPAI bird flu. (See link at right for list of donors
and contributions). But, according to FAO, the fight against HPAI
requires comprehensive and coordinated efforts at the local, national
and international levels over a period of several years in order
to overcome this animal disease and prevent possible human flu
pandemic, and this requires long-term discretionary funding.
“The surest way to contain the H5N1 virus,” says Lubroth, “is
through early detection, rapid response and transparent international
reporting of outbreaks.”
The virus has killed 141 people worldwide since 2002. In 2006,
64 people died from the virus, up from 41 in 2005, according to
WHO.
More than 220 million birds have died from the virus or been killed
in culling activities aimed at stopping the spread of the disease.
H5N1 continues to spread mainly through trade and transport
Despite successful efforts in a number of countries to contain
the virus, it has spread from the Far East to Europe, the Near
East and Africa. Many veterinary experts believe the virus has
been spread in the first instance by wild birds and then, after
arriving in a new country, is most often spread through poultry
trade and transport to wider areas.
It is for this reason that FAO, in close collaboration with the
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), recommends that countries
concentrate containment efforts on human activities such as poultry
farming, trade and live poultry markets, which are not only the
activities most likely to spread the virus, but are also activities
that can be inspected, controlled and improved.
FAO and OIE work together to help countries face a large number
of animal diseases
While there is little that can be done to control the movement
of wild birds, the need to keep domestic birds away from wild birds
has been widely recognized and efforts to do so are widespread,
according to FAO.
FAO and OIE are working to strengthen veterinary services around
the world to fight bird flu and to face a large number of transboundary
animal diseases that threaten the livelihoods of people and even
national economies.
To fight the disease, FAO has so far received US$67.6 million
and has signed agreements with donors for some US$29 million, while
another US$25 million has been promised. FAO has disbursed some
US$32.5 million since countries pledged US$1.9 billion at a Beijing
donor’s conference in January 2006 to support country, regional
and global programmes to fight bird flu and prevent a possible
human pandemic.
FAO also gives direct assistance to infected countries, countries
at risk and newly infected countries and this requires additional
support, which depends on the evolution of the situation and the
scale of the national programmes FAO is asked to implement.
Both
endemic and new virus strains to blame for bird flu recurrence
in Asia
Avian
flu: global sharing of virus samples
Avian
Influenza found on Norfolk chicken farm
|