The fight to control influenza pandemics is still a great challenge for the international community, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan during the opening of the 7th International Ministerial Conference on Animal and Pandemic Influenza (IMCAPI) yesterday in Hanoi.
"The H5N1 virus still exists and circulates in the environment and the potential risk of a pandemic still remains as a challenge faced by us all," said Nhan.
"The theme of this international ministerial conference entitled Animal influenza and Influenza pandemics: The way forward is entirely relevant and imperative."
The event, organised by the Government of Vietnam in co-ordination with the European Union and the United States, drew the participation of agriculture and health ministers from more than 100 countries and representatives from many international organisation and institutions.
Also speaking at the event, Health Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Quoc Trieu said that the health threat from animals was becoming more serious.
"Policy makers increasingly recognise that a high proportion of infectious diseases in humans come from animals, and that these dangerous diseases such as SARS, H5N1 and H1N1,have high economic costs and even political consequences," said Trieu.
"Therefore, addressing animal and pandemic influenza has become crucially important and requires the international community to collaborate closely in implementing strategic plans of action."
The two-day meeting saw participants discuss ways to ensure avian influenza control and the best ways to respond to any outbreaks during the next 20 years.
Ministers also reviewed threats posed by the highly pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza as well as other threats from emerging and new diseases. They agreed on actions to be undertaken at national and international levels in order to ensure preparedness against outbreaks and address these threats to protect human health and people's livelihood.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the first avian influenza outbreak occurred in Vietnam in late 2003. In April 2004, the disease quickly spread through 57 out of 63 provinces and 24 per cent of communes reported outbreaks of the disease. The outbreaks resulted in not only economic losses in which 52 million birds were culled, causing stagnation to poultry production and disruption to poultry movement and trade, but also seriously affected the tourism sector and livelihood of rural poor households as well as the deaths of many people infected with the virus.
The Government of Viet Nam has mobilised the political system and society to engage in pandemic prevention and control. Thanks to the efforts of the people, the government and international financial support, Viet Nam has succeeded in controlling H5N1 avian influenza in poultry and the spread of H5N1 in humans.
Source: VNS