Planning for outbreak
A conference deliberated several scenarios of facing off the Avian Flu virus if it mutates into a human-to-human strain. Reem Leila attended
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) held the second Global Pandemic Influenza Communication conference on Tuesday, to discuss the crucial issue of how authorities will communicate with the public during a time of health crisis -- when resources are scarce and anxiety is aplenty. WHO is also concerned that in case the bird flu virus transmutes into a human-to-human form in Egypt, the production and delivery of antidotes will take too long and supplies will be limited.
Attending the conference were Minister of Health and Population Hatem El-Gabali, WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region Director Hussein Gezairi, Executive Director of the Ministry of Health and Population's Central Unit for Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Abdel-Nasser Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar and senior adviser to the assistant director- general of communicable diseases Paul Gully, along with other WHO experts.
Specialists agree that since Avian Flu has hit the world hard and already 10 countries in the Middle East have been affected, there is a dire need to build the tools which will help all parties to communicate more effectively. According to Gezairi, "it will be impossible for any country suffering of pandemic outbreak to do the job looming before us alone. All strengths and experiences must be combined to face the challenges of a pandemic."
Complete article here: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/832/eg4.htm
A conference deliberated several scenarios of facing off the Avian Flu virus if it mutates into a human-to-human strain. Reem Leila attended
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The World Health Organisation (WHO) held the second Global Pandemic Influenza Communication conference on Tuesday, to discuss the crucial issue of how authorities will communicate with the public during a time of health crisis -- when resources are scarce and anxiety is aplenty. WHO is also concerned that in case the bird flu virus transmutes into a human-to-human form in Egypt, the production and delivery of antidotes will take too long and supplies will be limited.
Attending the conference were Minister of Health and Population Hatem El-Gabali, WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region Director Hussein Gezairi, Executive Director of the Ministry of Health and Population's Central Unit for Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Abdel-Nasser Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar and senior adviser to the assistant director- general of communicable diseases Paul Gully, along with other WHO experts.
Specialists agree that since Avian Flu has hit the world hard and already 10 countries in the Middle East have been affected, there is a dire need to build the tools which will help all parties to communicate more effectively. According to Gezairi, "it will be impossible for any country suffering of pandemic outbreak to do the job looming before us alone. All strengths and experiences must be combined to face the challenges of a pandemic."
Complete article here: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/832/eg4.htm