WHO, FAO and OIE Propose New Bird Flu Strategy

International health and agriculture experts have developed a new strategy to prevent avian influenza from sparking a human pandemic and have appealed to the international community for $250 million to support the effort.

Veterinary health workers vaccinate poultry against highly pathogenic avian influenza in Indonesia. International experts on animal and human health have proposed new measures to try to prevent the disease from producing a human influenza pandemic. FAO photo

The strategy emerged from a July 4–6 conference in Kuala Lumpur organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). It reflects experts' growing concern over the H5N1 virus that has wreaked havoc on the Asian poultry industry and killed more than 50 people in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Participants in the meeting described the avian influenza situation in Asia as extremely serious, but they said there was still a window of opportunity to ward off a pandemic. They said the $250 million investment now could save billions of dollars in global economic losses that would result from a pandemic.

The focus of the proposed strategy is on small-scale and backyard farms in Asia, which have produced the majority of human cases since early 2004. Specific elements of the strategy include:

• Educating farmers and their families about the dangers of high-risk behaviors and ways to make their farming practices safer.
• Segregating different species—such as chickens, ducks, and pigs—and reducing contact between these animals and humans.
• Compensating and/or rewarding farmers who report suspected avian influenza outbreaks in their flocks and apply control measures.
• Vaccinating poultry flocks in high-risk areas.

"We agreed that it is vital to urgently change or even end a number of farming practices that are dangerous to humans," said Joseph Domenech, FAO's chief veterinary officer, in discussing the results of the meeting. "These include the way chickens, ducks, and pigs are raised in close proximity to each other, often with no barriers between them and humans. Another area of concern is wet markets, where animals are often slaughtered in unsanitary conditions. These activities constitute a high risk to people who are exposed to contaminated animals or products, such as blood, feces, feathers, and carcasses."

Such practices increase the danger of transmission of avian viruses between species, increasing the chances that strains could exchange genetic material and produce a new virus that is more dangerous to human health.

Shigeru Omi, Western Pacific regional director of WHO, said the proposed strategy "gives us a real chance to make a mark on history-—as long as we work together with maximum energy and commitment."

The FAO/OIE part of the strategy would cost around $100 million to support vaccination, surveillance, diagnosis, and other control measures. "Without international support, poor countries will not be able to battle bird flu," said Domenech.

WHO efforts on the public health front would cost an estimated $150 million, mainly for capacity building in affected countries, including emergency support in the areas of laboratory diagnosis, vaccine development, surveillance, and public education, as well as antiviral drugs and personal protective equipment.