Home>News Center>World
         
 

Bird flu conference defers to WHO for preparedness
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-10-26 09:35

Health ministers and experts from 30 countries gathered to discuss the threat of avian influenza agreed Tuesday a coordinated international effort is needed to stop a possible pandemic, but offered no measures and little help for poorer countries.

At the end of two days of meetings, delegates said in a statement they had taken "important steps towards security long-term, sustained political and institutional engagement to address global pandemic influenza preparedness."

In fact, countries yielded to the World Health Organization (WHO) to lead the charge against the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus that experts believe could spark the next pandemic, with others playing only supporting roles.

"The WHO should be the first line of forward defense and we should support the WHO," Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said.

A proposal by Mexico and Thailand for wealthy countries to share five to 10 percent of their flu vaccine stockpiles with developing countries gained too little support to proceed.

"I don't believe that we came to a conclusion on that," Dosanjh said.

Instead, Canada and the United States pressed for developing countries to rely on the WHO's stockpile of anti-viral drugs and vaccines to stop future outbreaks -- about 30 million doses for three million people. Quickly thereafter, eight to 10 countries with their own stockpiles could come up the rear to beat down the virus, if needed, Dosanjh said.

An agreement on this proposal is expected "within days," he said.

Monday, Canada had offered support for a plan to loosen drug patent laws to allow generic production of anti-viral drugs and vaccines in some countries to address a looming worldwide drug shortage.

"We actually need to assist them with technology transfers which I believe is a euphemism for loosening the patent laws," Dosanjh said.

India and Taiwan said Monday they might allow their drug-makers to copy Tamiflu without obtaining a license from Roche Holding AG, the Swiss maker of the anti-viral drug believed to be the best human defense against bird flu, according to reports.

But Roche cautioned countries against producing their own generic versions of the popular drug. Its patent is protected until 2016.

Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott said the proposal would not alleviate the dearth of manufacturing capacity.

"This idea that we could have as much Tamiflu as we want if only Roche would allow people is just not right," he said.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt agreed and said the United States "will be respecting intellectual property and patents."

"It should be universally understood that this shortage of vaccines manufacturing is likely to persist for some time because it is impossible to dramatically increase vaccine production overnight," Leavitt said.

So far, more than 60 people in Asia have died since 2003 from the H5N1 virus after contact with infected poultry. Europe is now dealing with its first cases of affected birds in Britain, Romania and Russia, plus Turkey.

China was hit Tuesday with its second outbreak of bird flu in a week and about a dozen countries in Africa, where experts believe the disease is likely to spread with the arrival of migratory birds from Europe and Asia, have imposed full or partial bans on imports of poultry and poultry products in the past week.

The two-day Ottawa conference was the first to bring together both health ministers and experts from around the world, including Britain, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa and the United States, as well as representatives from the WHO, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Organization for Animal Health, to discuss avian influenza.

Leavitt said: "Our job as ministers of health or health secretaries is to find the balance between informing and inflaming, to inspire people to prepare, not to panic."

"What we do know is that there will likely be another pandemic, whether the H5N1 virus will be the spark that establishes that is unknown to us. Our objective is to prepare for the short and the long term," he said.



Hurricane Wilma batters Florida
All 117 feared dead in Nigerian plane crash
Quake relief inadequate, UN says
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Anniversary of Taiwan's recovery celebrated

 

   
 

Bird flu outbreak in Anhui reined in

 

   
 

Singapore PM: China's growth 'good for Asia'

 

   
 

US to transfer nuclear reactor tech to China

 

   
 

Koizumi still hopes for summit with China

 

   
 

Rails seizure shakes a nation's conscience

 

   
  Iraqi death toll much higher than US
   
  Draft Constitution adopted by Iraqi voters
   
  Journalists' hotel in Baghdad attacked
   
  Wilma leaves 6M without power in Florida
   
  Bernanke to succeed Greenspan as US Fed chief
   
  Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks dies at 92
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Major Chinese cities on high alert of bird flu
   
Bird Flu in China sickens 2,100 geese
   
Bird flu: Beijing demands rapid response
   
Health ministers meet over bird flu plans
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 白嫩少妇喷水正在播放| 69pao精品视频在线观看| 欧美色欧美亚洲另类二区| 韩国免费乱理论片在线观看2018 | 亲胸揉胸膜下刺激网站| 五月天六月丁香| 在线免费观看亚洲| 亚洲欧美7777| 激情黄+色+成+人| 免费少妇a级毛片| 一个妈妈的女儿在线观看5| 最新欧美精品一区二区三区| 免费无码一区二区三区| 国产成人精品啪免费视频| 国产精品欧美亚洲韩国日本久久 | 久久久久久亚洲av无码蜜芽| 最近更新中文字幕第一电影| 亚洲护士毛茸茸| 一级毛片免费毛片毛片| 99爱视频99爱在线观看免费| 欧美videosdesexo肥婆| 人妻大战黑人白浆狂泄| 精品国产三级在线观看| 国产亚洲欧美日韩精品一区二区 | 精品人妻少妇一区二区三区| 国产成人yy免费视频| 3344永久在线观看视频免费首页| 日本边添边摸边做边爱边视频| 亚洲国产一成人久久精品| 欧美野性肉体狂欢大派对| 亚洲美女视频一区| 私人玩物无圣光| 免费看午夜影豆网| 精品亚洲一区二区| 再深点灬舒服灬太大了阅读| 老婆~我等不及了给我| 国产传媒在线播放| 高岭家の二轮花未增删| 按摩xxxx全套| 国产极品美女高潮抽搐免费网站| 24小时免费看片|