05 June 2006
Top Officials Meeting on Bird Flu Strategy in Vienna
Two-day meeting will plan for avian influenza containment
Washington -- A high-level meeting of officials involved in the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza is being held in Vienna, Austria, June 6-7.
The government of Austria, on behalf of the European Union, hosts the meeting jointly with the United States.
The conference will involve experts in animal and human health from governments and major international organizations who are playing an important role in fighting the avian influenza pandemic, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 200 million birds through disease or destruction.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 causing this more than two-year-old plague among animals is also capable of infecting humans; 127 known human deaths have been attributed the disease, according to the World Health Organization. Humans have no immunity to this viral strain, so experts fear H5N1 could form the seed of global pandemic influenza.
The Vienna meeting will review global progress in pandemic preparedness and response, examine the status of donor funding, pursue action for greater transparency in reporting of disease, and explore progress on drug and vaccine development, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of State.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry added that there will be a review of the finances of this international campaign.
At a January meeting in Beijing, donor governments pledged about $2 billion to help lesser-developed nations improve animal and human health systems in order to avert pandemic. (See related article.)
The declaration approved at that meeting committed nations to a long-term partnership to assist countries most at risk, with a first priority of helping countries contain, control and eliminate the virus in affected poultry.
Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky heads the U.S. delegation, accompanied by representatives from U.S. health, agriculture and international development agencies.
President Bush announced the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza during the U.N. General Assembly in September 2005. (See fact sheet.)
Its goals are to:
• Elevate the avian influenza issue on national agendas;
• Coordinate efforts among donor and affected nations;
• Mobilize and leverage resources;
• Increase transparency in disease reporting and the quality of surveillance; and
• Build local capacity to identify, contain and respond to an influenza pandemic.
The full text of the declaration adopted at the international donors’ conference in Beijing is available on the Web site of the Austrian Foreign Ministry.
For ongoing coverage of the disease and efforts to combat it, see Bird Flu (Avian Influenza).
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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