World Health Organisation (WTO) has urged governments to move quickly to control the spread of bird flu, warning the world could face a pandemic capable of killing as many as 40 million people if it mutates into a form transmitted among humans. Isolated cases of that have already been reported.
Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO Western Pacific regional director, attending an international medical conference in Vietnam said “The world is now in the gravest possible danger of a pandemic,” adding pandemics occur every 20 to 30 years. As the last pandemic occurred 40 years ago, he urged the international community to better coordinate its efforts to contain the virus.
Laurence Tiley from Cambridge University in England claims the H5N1 strain is the most likely candidate for adapting and becoming a pandemic strain because it is resistant to eradication methods. WHO believes fighting the virus in poultry is crucial.
The virus is highly infectious and carries a 76% fatality rate, so far accounting for 45 deaths across Asia. Its potential threat is far larger than that of SARS. WHO has therefore advised governments to stockpile vaccines now, something the USA, France and Italy are doing already.
