Brewing Flu Pandemic Could Be Catastrophic Unless World Prepares – UN Agency
There will be another influenza pandemic and failure to prepare for it appropriately will have “catastrophic
consequences,” the head of the United Nations health agency warned today, calling for national control plans worldwide
and massive international collaboration to prevent the potential deaths of millions of people.
“There is a storm brewing that will test us all. We must anticipate it and prepare to the very best of our combined
ability,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Lee Jong-wook told ministers of health from throughout the
Americas, noting that the next pandemic will likely spring from the current Asian bird flu outbreak.
Addressing the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) 46th Directing Council meeting in Washington, he called on the
ministers to support the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza launched recently by United States
President George W. Bush at the United Nations General Assembly.
“This initiative needs full international cooperation if it is to fulfil its aims. I ask you all to sign up and give it
your active support,” he said.
Avian influenza, or bird flu, has sparked fears that it could mutate into a worldwide human pandemic, in a worst case
scenario killing tens of millions of people, ever since the most recent outbreak erupted in South-East Asia in January
last year.
“Forecasts indicate that the political, social and economic costs of such a pandemic will be huge. I cannot emphasize
this enough. Failure to take this threat seriously and prepare appropriately will have catastrophic consequences,” Dr.
Lee said.
“Every country must have a national pandemic control plan. Every country must also have a communications strategy. It
should be ready and able to inform the public about the pandemic, what is happening and what to do. Massive
international collaboration is now needed on the advance preparation of global antiviral stockpiles and pandemic vaccine
development,” he added.
Citing past flu pandemics that killed millions of people, Dr. Lee noted that the 1957 and 1968 flu pandemics originated
as bird flu viruses. “It is also likely that the next flu pandemic will emerge from one of the countries that has avian
flu infection in its bird populations,” he said, adding that the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus is now entrenched in
several parts of Asia and is moving further afield to Kazakhstan and Russia.
Overall, there have been some 120 reported human H5N1 cases, about 60 of them fatal, all in South-East Asia, since
January 2004. Some 140 million domestic birds have died or been culled in an effort to curb the spread.