A final version of the revised regulations from all regions of the World Health Organization (WHO) will be drafted in Geneva in November and submitted to the 58th World Health Assembly for approval in May 2005.

A report to the Directing Council, PAHO's governing body, said that the regulations are being revised "to address the threat posed by the emergence and resurgence of infectious diseases and the heightened risk of their international spread caused, in particular by the growth of international air transport and trade."

In fact, the report - International Health Regulations: Perspectives From The Region of The Americas - said that in the current era of rapid electronic communications - , in other words, the Internet - "news about many urgent international events will become public before even the most efficient health administration has had time to react and notify."

Such news, even if not verified, "may quickly lead to restrictions on travel and trade from other countries feeling threatened," the report added. "Information drawn from a wide range of formal and informal sources about the occurrence of outbreaks will need to be verified by national authorities to ascertain its international relevance."

The report said that the framework for the revised regulations is based on the understanding that the best way to prevent the international spread of diseases is to detect and contain them while they are still a local problem.

According to the report, "the core concept of the revised IHR - and one that will require substantial change in the way countries interact with WHO on global, regional and country levels - is that all events may that constitute a public health emergency of international concern should be notified to WHO."

The main changes proposed in the revised IHR related to four key areas:

• The scope of risk/disease notification.
• The legal framework for epidemic alert and response.
• Appointment of national focal points and definition of core capacities required in surveillance and response.
• Public health capacity to implement recommended measures at points of entry.

A major challenge, according to the report, is how to organize international resources to respond to an outbreak which threatens to overwhelm the national capacity, or to contain a disease about which little is know. "The response to this challenge will entail international cooperation to strengthen partnerships, which in turn enables countries to access logistical, epidemiological, and laboratory resources and communications capabilities," the report said.

PAHO was established in 1902 and is the world's oldest public health organization. PAHO works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and the quality of life of people of the Americas. It serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).