$2.2 billion needed to prepare for bird flu

NEW YORK - A senior UN official has said that about US$1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) is needed now to help countries and international groups fight bird flu and prepare for a human pandemic.

Dr David Nabarro, the UN co-ordinator on avian and human flu, said donors at a conference in Beijing next week should contribute generously to combating bird flu. "Fingers-crossed it's going to be a good-sized pledge," he said.

Nabarro stressed the cash needed now was "a beginning" and much more would be needed if there is a pandemic.

"They're what's required to help countries put in place their flu programmes and to get much better and effective control," Nabarro said. "They're also monies that are required by the international organisations."

Meanwhile, Turkey could qualify for US$30 million in aid from the World Bank after an assessment of its needs to deal with bird flu, bank officials said.

"A joint assessment has come up with a US$30 million requirement to improve surveillance, veterinary services and put in place a basic component to deal with the outbreak," World Bank expert Juergen Voegele said.

He said Turkey had the capacity to deal with the current outbreak but it would require significant spending.

The World Health Organisation said the threat of a pandemic is growing daily, but is not inevitable if countries and health bodies can respond quickly.

Fears have been growing about H5N1 spreading to more countries after a spate of infections in Turkey, the first cases in humans outside East Asia.

"As the new cases of human infection with the H5N1 virus in Turkey show, the situation is worsening with each passing month and the threat of an influenza pandemic is continuing to grow every day," WHO regional director Shigeru Omi said at talks in Tokyo.

"We must ensure we respond instantly with all the weapons at our disposal should early signs of a pandemic appear," Omi said, noting that Asia was still the epicentre of the threat.

"If we can achieve this rapid response, we may have a good chance of halting the spread of the virus before the situation becomes uncontrollable, or at least of slowing it down. But if we fail, the consequences for societies, economies and global public health could be immeasurable," he added.

Omi said that among steps likely to be discussed in Tokyo were ways to raise public awareness and to strengthen surveillance.

The WHO believes that a weak surveillance system was one of the factors behind the outbreak of the disease in Turkey and sees early warning as vital in preventing a human pandemic.

"We will have to focus on many practical issues, such as how to swiftly distribute stockpiles of anti-viral drugs to affected areas."

The WHO will also present likely scenarios of an outbreak of a mutated form of H5N1 that can be easily passed among people and discuss how countries in Asia can help each other. Support from richer nations for developing countries, where most of the cases have emerged, was crucial, Omi said.

- REUTERS