sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
May 9
HEALTH ACMECS MEETING
Bird flu in Burma major concern for neighbours in region
[SIZE=-1]ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
<!--img--><!--/img-->The possibility of an outbreak of avian flu in Burma has became a major concern of the five member countries of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) forum and international organisations in charge of bird flu control. Access to information about the bird flu situation in neighbouring countries, especially Burma, was considered a key to the effective control of the spread of the virus in the sub-region, a senior Thai official said on the sidelines of the Acmecs meeting on avian influenza pandemic preparedness in Bangkok yesterday.
International organisations were worried about secrecy surround the bird flu situation in some countries, said the official, who asked for anonymity.
The meeting, which follows the much larger Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) health ministers' meeting in Vietnam over the weekend, was attended by senior health, agricultural and foreign officials from Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Burmese ambassador U Ye Win and his minister-counsellor U Myint Soe told the meeting that Burmese military forces had stamped out bird flu in the central district of Mandalay and the northern district of Sagaing.
A Thai official quoted the Burmese representatives as saying that use of the military was a key to bird flu eradication. However, the situation was still worrying because most soldiers lacked expertise in diagnosis of the deadly virus.
Prat Boonyawongvirot, acting public health permanent secretary, said Thailand was ready to help strengthen Acmecs member countries' bird flu eradication and surveillance operations.
''We are ready to provide financial and technical support to our neighbours to follow our success story in tackling bird flu,'' he said. The Department of Medical Science had begun a training course for Burmese officials on bird flu diagnosis and epidemiology.
Dr Prat also urged China, a non-member, to join the Acmecs efforts on bird flu eradication in the region.
Yukol Limlamthong, director general of the Department of Livestock Development, said Thai officials were part of the joint UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health task force that inspected the bird flu situation in Burma two months ago and would continue to work with Burma and other Acmecs members to enhance bird flu monitoring.
Foreign affairs permanent secretary Krit Garnjana-goonchorn, who chaired the meeting, said delegates had endorsed the sub-regional plan for combating bird flu and other emerging infectious diseases.
Drafted by Thailand, the plan focused on transparency in tackling bird flu outbreaks and national preparedness for an influenza pandemic. Acmecs members would discuss it in detail during a ministerial meeting in Pak Se, Laos, next month.
Thailand in November promised US$2.5 million to help Acmecs members strengthen pandemic preparedness and establish a vaccine research network. <!--/Content-->
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/09May2006_news15.php
[/SIZE]
HEALTH ACMECS MEETING
Bird flu in Burma major concern for neighbours in region
[SIZE=-1]ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
<!--img--><!--/img-->The possibility of an outbreak of avian flu in Burma has became a major concern of the five member countries of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) forum and international organisations in charge of bird flu control. Access to information about the bird flu situation in neighbouring countries, especially Burma, was considered a key to the effective control of the spread of the virus in the sub-region, a senior Thai official said on the sidelines of the Acmecs meeting on avian influenza pandemic preparedness in Bangkok yesterday.
International organisations were worried about secrecy surround the bird flu situation in some countries, said the official, who asked for anonymity.
The meeting, which follows the much larger Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) health ministers' meeting in Vietnam over the weekend, was attended by senior health, agricultural and foreign officials from Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Burmese ambassador U Ye Win and his minister-counsellor U Myint Soe told the meeting that Burmese military forces had stamped out bird flu in the central district of Mandalay and the northern district of Sagaing.
A Thai official quoted the Burmese representatives as saying that use of the military was a key to bird flu eradication. However, the situation was still worrying because most soldiers lacked expertise in diagnosis of the deadly virus.
Prat Boonyawongvirot, acting public health permanent secretary, said Thailand was ready to help strengthen Acmecs member countries' bird flu eradication and surveillance operations.
''We are ready to provide financial and technical support to our neighbours to follow our success story in tackling bird flu,'' he said. The Department of Medical Science had begun a training course for Burmese officials on bird flu diagnosis and epidemiology.
Dr Prat also urged China, a non-member, to join the Acmecs efforts on bird flu eradication in the region.
Yukol Limlamthong, director general of the Department of Livestock Development, said Thai officials were part of the joint UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health task force that inspected the bird flu situation in Burma two months ago and would continue to work with Burma and other Acmecs members to enhance bird flu monitoring.
Foreign affairs permanent secretary Krit Garnjana-goonchorn, who chaired the meeting, said delegates had endorsed the sub-regional plan for combating bird flu and other emerging infectious diseases.
Drafted by Thailand, the plan focused on transparency in tackling bird flu outbreaks and national preparedness for an influenza pandemic. Acmecs members would discuss it in detail during a ministerial meeting in Pak Se, Laos, next month.
Thailand in November promised US$2.5 million to help Acmecs members strengthen pandemic preparedness and establish a vaccine research network. <!--/Content-->
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/09May2006_news15.php
[/SIZE]