U.S Health Secretary Warns of Flu Pandemic

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U.S Health Secretary Warns of Flu Pandemic

Oct 10 8:06 PM US/Eastern

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By GRANT PECK

Associated Press Writer

 

BANGKOK, Thailand

 

The likelihood of a human flu pandemic is very high, U.S. Health and

Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt warned Monday as he sought

Southeast Asian cooperation to combat the spread of bird flu.

 

Leavitt and the director of the World Health Organization are touring

Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to seek their collaboration in

preparing for the anticipated public health emergency linked to the

H5N1 strain of the disease.

 

That strain has swept through poultry populations in many parts of

Asia since 2003 and jumped to humans, killing 65 people, mostly

through direct contact with sick fowl.

 

While there have been no known cases of person-to-person transmission,

World Health Organization officials and other experts have been

warning that the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily

among people. In a worst-case scenario, millions could die.

 

Three influenza pandemics have occurred over the last century and " the

likelihood of another is very high, some say even certain, " Leavitt

said after meeting with Thai health officials to review the their

preparations.

 

" Whether or not H5N1 is the virus that will ultimately trigger such a

pandemic is unknown to us, " he said at a news conference. " The

probability is uncertain. But the warning signs are troubling. Hence

we are responding in a robust way. "

 

Leavitt's tour comes after President Bush last month established the

" International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza " to

coordinate a global strategy against bird flu and other types of

influenza.

 

Leavitt said " containment " was the first line of defense against the

illness, encouraging countries to step up development and production

of vaccines and strengthen efforts to detect any cases of human

transmission early.

 

Thai Public Health Minister Suchai Charoenratanakul said Thailand

would contribute at least 5 percent of its antiviral drug supplies to

a proposed Southeast Asian regional stockpile.

 

World Heath Organization Director General Dr. Lee Jong-wook said

preparation was the key to preventing a flu epidemic such as the one

that struck in 1918, killing an estimated 40 million to 50 million people.

 

" Now we know in advance what is happening and we have to prepare

ourselves. That is our duty, " he said.

 

Also Monday, Turkey and Romania slaughtered thousands of birds after

both countries said they detected the disease, and the European Union

and other countries banned the import of poultry from the two nations.

Bird flu has not been confirmed by expert laboratories, however, and

it is unknown whether the poultry deaths in either location involve

the H5N1 strain.

 

Nonetheless, some 40,000 birds in eastern Romania were to be

slaughtered in coming days, authorities said.

 

" I think it's better to take these preventive measures now, " even

without confirmation of H5N1, Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu

Tariceanu said Sunday.

 

___

 

Associated Press writers C. Onur Ant in Istanbul, Turkey, and Raf

Casert in Brussels, Belgium, contributed to this report.