Experts of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that public awareness of the deadly bird flu virus is crucial.

"Public education and awareness is very important," Dr. Julie Hall, WHO's epidemic alert and response coordinator in China told Xinhua in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan province, after they concluded an investigation into three pneumonia cases.

The public should be aware of the symptoms and be able to report quickly so that infections can be reduced and the areas can be disinfected if a bird flu outbreak occurs, she said.

However, experts said the subtype H5 of avian influenza virus is still a rare disease in humans. "It takes considerable effort for this virus to jump from animals to humans, requiring very close contact with infected live animals. Man cannot catch the disease from well-cooked poultry," said Dr. Hall.

A joint expert team of WHO and China's Ministry of Health (MOH) arrived in Hunan on Monday to probe three suspicious pneumonia cases.

"This has been a very constructive, very positive visit," she said. "We believe the authorities here have worked tremendously hard to detect these cases."

China's Ministry of Health confirmed two human bird flu cases in the country Wednesday. The two confirmed cases involve a nine-year-old boy in Xiangtan County of Hunan and a 24-year-old woman farmer in Zongyang County of Anhui Province. The boy's sister died of pneumonia-like symptoms last month and was suspected to have contracted bird flu.

Roy Wadia, WHO spokesman in Beijing, said it is not surprising to see confirmed human cases reported in China, which indicates the importance and urgency of fighting the highly pathogenic virus.

China is facing a tremendous challenge in controlling the disease in animals as well as strenghtening the early detection for any possible human cases, said Dr. Hall.

Key areas for strenghening include raising public awareness, trying to reduce panic, and encouraging people to report and seek health care if they have contact with sick poultry, the expert said.

WHO will help with the revision of a national guidline for prevention and control of the disease. "Seeing the experiences in Hunan and Anhui province, we believe there is a very good foundation here in China for early response and early detection of cases," Dr. Hall said.

She said WHO will continue to assist China in curbing the epidemic in the future.

Source: Xinhua