久久久无码人妻精品无码_6080YYY午夜理论片中无码_性无码专区_无码人妻品一区二区三区精99

New flu pandemic could kill 150 million
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-30 09:57

UNITED NATIONS - A top U.N. public health expert warned Thursday that a new influenza pandemic could come anytime and claim millions of lives unless officials to take action now to control an epidemic in Asia.

A man prepares to release race pigeons in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 29, 2005. The number of suspected bird flu cases in Indonesia rose to 48 on Thursday as the health minister appealed for people not to shun patients suffering from the virus, saying close contact with them was not dangerous. [AP]

Dr. David Nabarro of the World Health Organization called on governments to take immediate steps to address the threat at a news conference following his appointment as the new U.N. coordinator to lead a global drive to counter a human flu pandemic.

"We expect the next influenza pandemic to come at any time now, and it's likely to be caused by a mutant of the virus that is currently causing bird flu in Asia," he said.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has swept through poultry populations in Asia since 2003, infecting humans and killing at least 65 people, mostly poultry workers, and resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of birds. The virus does not pass from person to person easily, but experts believe this could change if the virus mutates.

Nabarro said with the almost certainty of another influenza pandemic soon, and with experts saying there is a high likelihood of the H5N1 virus mutating, it would be "extremely wrong" to ignore the serious possibility of a global outbreak.

"The avian flu epidemic has to be controlled if we are to prevent a human influenza pandemic," Nabarro said.

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed more than 40 million people, and there were subsequent pandemics in 1957 and 1968 which had lower death rates but caused great disruption, he said.

In a new pandemic, Nabarro said, "the range of deaths could be anything between 5 and 150 million."

"The work we're doing over the next few months on prevention and preparedness will make the difference between, for example, whether the next pandemic leads us in the direction of 150 (million) or in the direction of 5 (million)," he said.

He said Asian leaders met with Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the recent U.N. summit and asked for U.N. assistance in coordinating the response to the bird flu epidemic.

Annan asked Nabarro to take a leave from his current post as WHO's executive director for sustainable development and health environments to become the U.N. system's coordinator for avian and human influenza.

Close

Australia fending off bird flu Massive Indonesian vaccination drive against polio resumes Hurricane Rita aftermath in the United States

Today's Top News     Top World News
No US-China textile deal; more talks in October         CPC to hold plenum in Beijing October 8-11         American DVD piracy convict deported home         Laundering legislation to spread net wider         New flu pandemic could kill 150 million         US, China clash over UN N. Korea statement	Roberts takes oath as US chief justice       String of car bombs kills 60 in Iraq       AP: China, US differ on North Korea nuke issues       Global court said ready to finger Uganda rebels       Palestinians enforce weapons display ban       Attack on Darfur camp leaves 29 dead