China makes progress in thwarting avian flu, says UN official

A senior United Nations official said on Wednesday that China is making "real progress" in tackling the deadly H5N1, commonly known as avian influenza.

David Nabarro, the senior UN system coordinator for avian and human pandemic influenza, made the comment at a press briefing on the annual progress report on animal and pandemic influenza.

"There really has been real progress in that country both on the strategy and its implementation," Nabarro told reporters.

In March, Nabarro met in Bali, Indonesia with governments from five countries where avian flu is still "a major problem" -- Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Nabarro said he spoke extensively with a high-powered Chinese delegation, who briefed him on the joint work of health and agricultural officials, who are encouraged to travel anywhere in the country to assess the situation on the ground.

"It was quite extraordinary to see the candor with which the new chief veterinary officer was describing the approaches that he and colleagues are using now to address the ongoing problem of avian influenza and the strategy they are pursuing to try to reduce the risk of H5N1 transmission in poultry," he said.

The 1.3 billion-populated country has mobilized several governmental sectors including the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and China Center for Disease Control to be engaged in the prevention of the influenza's outbreak.

Avian flu has largely been missing from recent global headlines, said Nabarro, as countries have undertaken an intense effort to control the virus and last year's emergence of H1N1, or swine flu, spread rapidly and continues to be a main cause of sickness.

The crowding of H1N1, H5N1, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) into the first decade of the new century is an indication of the rate at which threats may continue to arise, said the new UN study, entitled "Animal and Pandemic Influenza: A Framework for Sustaining Momentum."

"As globalization factors improve the ability of viruses to rapidly cross borders, and as human settlements push into virgin tropical forests and climate change disrupts animal habitats, the incidence of the new diseases may quicken and their reach may extend," said the report.

On April 20-21, ministers will gather in Hanoi, Vietnam to take stock of lessons learned and to consider whether extra measures should be taken, said Nabarro.

The report highlighted that the key challenge now is to turn promising beginnings of cross-sector work into more sustained and holistic approaches.

"Most countries have still to develop in-country institutional frameworks and to tackle the root cause of disease emergence, to respond to diseases as they emerge and to maintain public and political interest in the face of ever-changing perceptions and needs," said the study.

Since 2003, there have been over 476 confirmed human cases of avian flu, and 284 deaths, reported in 15 countries. While the overall number of reported outbreaks and countries affected has declined "dramatically" since 2006, the number of confirmed human cases has doubled since 2008, added the report.

Source:Xinhua