Governments should keep transparent and share information to
contain the epidemic of bird flu that was spreading in Asia, said
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Wednesday afternoon at an
international meeting on the avian virus crisis.
"To contain a fast-spreading virus, countries need to respond
promptly, act with transparency, obtain reliable scientific data,
and share information and experiences with one another," said the
prime minister when opening the ministerial meeting on the current
poultry disease situation.
Describing the epidemic as "a dark side" of globalization,
Thaksin noted that the disease not only posed a grave economic
threat but also a serious threat to public health.
Millions of chickens have been killed on farms in many countries
and regions since the avian influenza first broke out in
Vietnam.
During less than one month time, more economies including Japan,
South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, China and China's
Taiwan have reported outbreak of the disease, which was suspected
of being transmitted to chicken by bird and water fowl.
In Thailand alone, which confirmed the outbreak on January 23,
almost 8 million chickens have been culled to curb the spread of
the fowl disease since November of last year and 134 spots
including the capital of Bangkok have been confirmed as risk areas
affected by the disease.
Vowing to put the situation under well control in three-month
time, the Thai government said the poultry disease so far had
caused some 3-billion-baht (about US$77 million) loss to the
kingdom, which was among world top five chicken exporters.
The disease has also claimed at least 10 people's lives, eight
in Vietnam and two in Thailand.
"The enemy we face is no less deadly than SARS," stressed
Thaksin in his speech.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), viruses
causing the disease could constantly undergo spontaneous genetic
changes that make them hard to protect against and even mix their
genes with other types to create new, deadlier subtypes.
Thaksin therefore said the SARS crisis breaking out last year
must not be forgotten and called on governments to cooperate to
address the current epidemic threatening the region's poultry
industry and human health.
"We need to coordinate our efforts and exchange views and
information, so that we can avoid the extremes of overreaction and
complacency," he said.
Initiated by the Thai government on Saturday, the meeting was
attended by agriculture and health officials from 13 concerned
economies and experts from WHO, the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal
Health.
The three-hour close-door meeting was expected to join the
region's efforts to address the bird flu crisis.
The convening of the meeting itself indicated that the epidemic
had become an issue of great political significance and showed the
governments' willingness to address the issue jointly, FAO's
regional representative for Asia and Pacific He Changchui told
Xinhua before the meeting was held.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2004)?