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Monday May 22, 2006
Speeding global response to curb a bird flu-sparked pandemic
GENEVA (AP) - The 192-nation World Health Assembly plans to speed efforts to contain any pandemic resulting from bird flu, a top official says.
Fast implementation of a new system to detect and report disease outbreaks will receive top priority at the weeklong annual meeting starting Monday aimed at sharpening the global effort to contain the most dangerous diseases, Denis Aitken, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization, told reporters before the meeting.
The six-day meeting attended by more than 100 health ministers and other high officials will kick off with Taiwan's 10th bid for observer status so that it can better join in efforts to contain disease outbreaks like bird flu.
But Aitken said the bid _ with support from the United States and strong opposition from China _ is again likely to fail because most of the member countries accept Beijing's one China policy that holds that Taiwan is a Chinese province and not a separate nation.
But Aitken said on a practical level the WHO is better able to work with Taiwan's government in fighting disease under a 2005 agreement with China which confirms the ability to send in experts to Taiwan in emergency situations.
"We can say that they are fully covered,'' Aitken said. "With the ability now, we don't see any gap in coverage.''
WHO sent an expert to Taiwan during the 2003 outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and the new agreement confirms that that there is no problem in continuing the practice, he said.
Aitken said Taiwan had notified WHO that it intended to join immediately in a system expected to be approved by the assembly setting up formal notification procedures for disease outbreaks such as bird flu.
The proposal is for the assembly to approve early, voluntary implementation of the International Health Regulations adopted last year. Aitken said the assembly is expected to approve the decision _ which would speed up implementation by more than a year _ and that many nations will start immediately with new procedures.
Under the regulations, which deal with all diseases which may have a public emergency health risk, countries and the WHO set up formal procedures for rapid notification of outbreaks.
"We expect many countries to sign up voluntarily to do it,'' said Aitken. "All of the key articles of the International Health Regulations will then apply for avian flu purposes from now.''
Efforts to eradicate polio will be discussed after the setbacks of last year when the disease re-emerged in a number of countries.
The assembly is expected to urge countries still afflicted with the disease to step up efforts to combat it and to encourage neighboring countries to respond promptly to any suspected cases.
The assembly also will discuss efforts to provide universal access to care for people infected with the AIDS virus.
Also to be discussed is the long-standing proposal to destroy the smallpox virus still held by laboratories in the United States and Russia.
Some groups favor the early destruction of the virus now that the disease has been eradicated and others think that the virus should be held for research purposes, Aitken said.
The assembly will be meeting without the director-general of WHO, Dr. Lee Jong-wook, who underwent emergency surgery for a blood clot in his brain Saturday and is recovering in the Cantonal Hospital of Geneva, WHO said. - AP
Monday May 22, 2006
Speeding global response to curb a bird flu-sparked pandemic
GENEVA (AP) - The 192-nation World Health Assembly plans to speed efforts to contain any pandemic resulting from bird flu, a top official says.
Fast implementation of a new system to detect and report disease outbreaks will receive top priority at the weeklong annual meeting starting Monday aimed at sharpening the global effort to contain the most dangerous diseases, Denis Aitken, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization, told reporters before the meeting.
The six-day meeting attended by more than 100 health ministers and other high officials will kick off with Taiwan's 10th bid for observer status so that it can better join in efforts to contain disease outbreaks like bird flu.
But Aitken said the bid _ with support from the United States and strong opposition from China _ is again likely to fail because most of the member countries accept Beijing's one China policy that holds that Taiwan is a Chinese province and not a separate nation.
But Aitken said on a practical level the WHO is better able to work with Taiwan's government in fighting disease under a 2005 agreement with China which confirms the ability to send in experts to Taiwan in emergency situations.
"We can say that they are fully covered,'' Aitken said. "With the ability now, we don't see any gap in coverage.''
WHO sent an expert to Taiwan during the 2003 outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and the new agreement confirms that that there is no problem in continuing the practice, he said.
Aitken said Taiwan had notified WHO that it intended to join immediately in a system expected to be approved by the assembly setting up formal notification procedures for disease outbreaks such as bird flu.
The proposal is for the assembly to approve early, voluntary implementation of the International Health Regulations adopted last year. Aitken said the assembly is expected to approve the decision _ which would speed up implementation by more than a year _ and that many nations will start immediately with new procedures.
Under the regulations, which deal with all diseases which may have a public emergency health risk, countries and the WHO set up formal procedures for rapid notification of outbreaks.
"We expect many countries to sign up voluntarily to do it,'' said Aitken. "All of the key articles of the International Health Regulations will then apply for avian flu purposes from now.''
Efforts to eradicate polio will be discussed after the setbacks of last year when the disease re-emerged in a number of countries.
The assembly is expected to urge countries still afflicted with the disease to step up efforts to combat it and to encourage neighboring countries to respond promptly to any suspected cases.
The assembly also will discuss efforts to provide universal access to care for people infected with the AIDS virus.
Also to be discussed is the long-standing proposal to destroy the smallpox virus still held by laboratories in the United States and Russia.
Some groups favor the early destruction of the virus now that the disease has been eradicated and others think that the virus should be held for research purposes, Aitken said.
The assembly will be meeting without the director-general of WHO, Dr. Lee Jong-wook, who underwent emergency surgery for a blood clot in his brain Saturday and is recovering in the Cantonal Hospital of Geneva, WHO said. - AP
