Avian Influenza and the Pandemic Threat

Source: FAO
Kuala Lumpur, 23 June 2008 -- The peak of the avian influenza crisis that has hit Asia hardest but also Africa and Europe is over but drawbacks and weaknesses continue in the fight against the disease, and this poses serious problems for global food security.

Juan Lubroth, Senior Officer for Infectious Diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sounded the warning as he spoke to the press following the 13th International Congress on Infectious Diseases held in the Malaysian capital from 19 to 22 June.

Lubroth, who had presented a paper on 'The Ongoing Epidemic of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza' during a symposium on Influenza in Animals and People, said avian influenza is still active in around 10 countries (a total of 60 have been affected since 2003), with Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan,Viet Nam and part of China, the current "hot spots".

According to Lubroth, who also heads FAO's Emergency Prevention System (EMPRES) for the livestock sector, the hardest hit by the death of poultry are the world's rural poor, 80 percent of whom depend on livestock for their livelihoods. To date, an estimated 240 million birds have died or been slaughtered, causing major damage to the livelihoods of millions of people.

Because poultry are an important, inexpensive source of protein, Lubroth said failure to protect these food sources could worsen the global food crisis.

The FAO official called for strengthening of veterinary services around the world and greater transparency in reporting disease, and urged countries to use more surveillance and implement policies to deal with the disease.

Commenting on the threat to human lives, Lubroth said the only way to avoid a human pandemic was "to tackle the disease at the source - the source being poultry, the source being poor hygiene, the source being lack of regulatory infrastructures to improve the poultry production sector."