Avian (bird) flu is a real threat to human security in Southeast Asia.
A new report surveying government plans to counter the threat points to worrying signs that many Asian countries are lacking the capacity to deal with such a pandemic. The lead author of the report, Dr Richard Coker, said Asian countries did however have the advantage of their experience with SARS, something he believed European countries could learn from. Dr Coker listed China, Thailand and Vietnam as having to address significant gaps in their plans while there were no plans available for Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia. He said greater cooperation among countries is essential to build preparedness.
The need for ways to combat a possible human epidemic has motivated various medical research collaborations throughout the region.Thailand gave Cambodia numerous bird flu test kits, latex gloves and Surveillance and Response Team equipment as part of a cooperative strategy to fight the virus. In Indonesia, early detection kits and human vaccines would be ready for distribution by July. These kits were a joint initiative by the Indonesian Health Ministry and Singapore's Temasek Life Science Laboratory. Over in Vietnam, there are three research drives to find a bird flu vaccine.
Efforts to prevent the spread of avian influenza amongst the supply of poultry have been undertaken throughout the region. Some of them have been a bane to poultry suppliers. Bans have been placed and lifted, upsetting the supply chain. In March, Singaporehad placed a ban on all fresh chicken and eggs from Selangor, causing duck farmers to suffer considerable losses.
Calling for greater transparency and openness in the fight against bird flu, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that a key area of cooperation among countries - the sharing of samples of virus strains to facilitate research, was hampered by worry among some countries about intellectual property rights or not receiving a fair share of the scientific credit and fears of the economic impact of being placed on a travel advisory. He pointed out the need to address these concerns by building the fundamental relationship of sincerity and trust between all parties. Otherwise it would lead to a deepening of the problem. He urged countries to take a united, global approach to fighting the virus.
Vocabulary words:
- Pandemic - (of a disease) prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world; epidemic over a large area.
- Advisory - a report on existing or predicted conditions, often with advice for dealing with them
Done by : Huimin
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