- The World Health Organisation has warned the latest strain
of Asian bird flu could be more deadly than the respiratory disease SARS,
which claimed nearly 800 lives and infected some 8,000 people in 32 countries
last year.
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- Several Asian countries are culling chickens to combat
the disease, but a spokesman for the health body says countries need to
act quickly to reduce the high risk to humans.
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- In Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has appealed
for calm as health authorities confirmed that six people have died after
contracting the H5N1 bird flu.
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- Channman Bounmant, the father of a six year old boy who
died at the weekend, says the government reacted too late.
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- "They cover up the news when they should have told
people how to protect themselves, then we would have known what to do.
No one wants to die, no one wants to get this disease," he said.
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- The WHO is rushing protective gowns and masks to Vietnam,
one of the countries worst affected by the avian influenza, to prevent
further transmission to humans.
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- Cambodia, which has reported suspected cases of the deadly
strain of bird flu in two children, has also appealed for assistance.
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- World Health Organisation spokesman Peter Cordingly says
while bird flu has so far only infected people in direct contact with chickens,
it could create a global pandemic if it mutates into a form transmitted
through human contact.
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- "If it jumps to humans and then attaches itself
to the human flu virus and then mutates and becomes a new virus of which
we have no knowledge, then we have a serious international problem on our
hands," he said.
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- Asia urged to act quickly
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- Australia has urged Asian nations not to hide outbreaks
of bird flu.
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- Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says countries must
learn from the SARS experience and publicise outbreaks as quickly as possible.
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- He was speaking after Indonesia was accused of covering
up cases of the disease and the World Health Organisation chided China
for its slow response to the crisis.
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- Mr Downer says he hopes Chinese officials are being open.
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- "The Chinese, as you say, were tardy in how they
responded to SARS and then they realised their mistake and the Chinese
government became very decisive in response to SARS," he said.
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- http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newstories/RANewsStories_1032359.htm
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