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The Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) issued a new warning to the international community that the
avian influenza viruses H7N9 and H5N1 continue to pose serious
threats to human and animal health, especially in view of the
upcoming flu season.
“The world is more prepared than ever
before to respond to bird flu viruses in light of a decade of work on
H5N1 and the recent response to H7N9,” Juan Lubroth, chief
veterinary officer, said at a joint meeting with United States Agency
for International Development (USAID), the World Health Organisation
(WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
The
heads of FAO reference centres in Australia, the People’s Republic
of China, Italy and the United States of America were also in
attendance, along with representatives from the Centre for Disease
Control and Prevention and the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
Lubroth said constant vigilance was
required. He added, “Bird flu viruses continue to circulate in
poultry. Efforts must continue and be strengthened, not only in
affected countries, but also in neighbouring states and areas with
strong trade linkages. This is especially true for H7N9, since it
causes no clinical signs in birds and is therefore very difficult to
detect in poultry.”
Along these lines, FAO has committed $2
million of emergency funding, supplemented by over $5 million from
USAID to kick-start H7N9 response efforts. The support of the latter
has enabled FAO to help countries at risk dramatically improve
surveillance capacities.
“Several at-risk countries
previously unable to pick up the virus can now accurately detect
H7N9,” Lubroth explained, adding that identifying the virus with
consistency was critical to targeting control efforts and reducing
spread.
Dennis Carroll, director, USAID’s Emerging Threats
Programme, said, “The early detection and excellent
characterisation of the H7N9 virus by Chinese experts has created an
unprecedented opportunity to mount a coordinated effort to stop the
further spread of the virus and thwart a possible global event.
Significant progress over the past decade in forging national
and international partnerships and validating interventions for
control of avian influenza can be immediately adapted to addressing
the threat posed by the H7N9 virus.
Surveillance
is key
FAO and USAID stressed that more work
is required. In the short term, this includes continued, targeted
surveillance and trace back throughout the production and marketing
system, contingency planning and compensation scheme
development.
“The emergence of the H7N9 virus serves as yet
another reminder that new disease threats are not the exception, but
a predictable consequence of events occurring at the human-animal
interface,” Carroll said.
“It is important we continue to
monitor future threats while at the same time improving the practices
and behaviours associated with livestock production and marketing
that can make it easier for diseases to emerge and affect animals and
people,” he said.
“Surveillance is key, and with support
from key partners like USAID, we are making progress,” Lubroth
said.
“In addition to helping countries
detect the virus, we need to make sure authorities can trace back the
virus to its points of origin and better understand how the virus is
circulating so as to design effective control actions. Where
appropriate we need to help governments put together contingency
plans for the possible detection of the virus and compensation
schemes for assisting those affected by control efforts,” he
said.
In the longer-term fight against H7N9 and other viruses,
FAO and USAID are urging countries to invest in improving the way
they market and sell poultry.
“We need keep our eyes on the bigger
picture of promoting healthy food systems, especially when it comes
to animal production and marketing,” Lubroth said.
“Restructuring can create healthier
and safer markets by developing facilities that employ proper food
safety and hygiene measures. Since animals, and therefore viruses,
are inevitably gathered at markets, keeping these markets clean and
safe reduces the chances for viruses and other pathogens to spread.
Healthy markets mean healthy birds, and that means improved public
health, better food security and more sustainable livelihoods,” he
added.
FAO continues its call for funds to bolster the global
H7N9 response. FAO is urging countries to make key investments in
improving markets and promoting healthy food systems to fight viruses
affecting animals and humans as part of overarching efforts to ensure
the animal sector realises its potential in the promotion of healthy
and productive lives.