The Hindu : FIGHTING BIRD FLU

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004

Opinion

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FIGHTING BIRD FLU

THE LETHAL BIRD flu sweeping through countries across Asia has aroused fears that the virus could evolve into a form highly infectious to people, setting the stage for another global influenza pandemic. There were four flu pandemics during the 20th century; the worst was the Spanish flu of 1918-19 that took a toll of several million lives. Influenza viruses of type A, which infect humans, animals such as the pig and the horse and also birds, have long been of particular concern. When different virus strains of this type infect the same bird or animal, they are capable of swapping genes and creating new varieties of the virus. Being different from their parent strains, these new varieties are not detected and stopped by the immune system. At least two of the pandemics in the last century were caused by flu viruses that carried both bird and human viral genes. Until a few years ago, it was thought that pigs, which could be infected by both bird and human flu viruses, played a vital part in creating these re-assorted viruses. But in 1997, in Hong Kong, a strain of bird flu labelled H5N1 was able directly to infect 18 persons, a third of whom died. The killing of all poultry in Hong Kong within three days stopped the epidemic. But H5N1 has reappeared, with the strain causing widespread infections among poultry in a number of Asian countries. Worse, some people in Vietnam and Thailand have contracted the virus, mostly through close contact with infected birds or their droppings, and 14 of them have died so far. Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) is investigating whether two sisters caught the disease from their brother, there is no evidence that the virus is able to pass easily from human to human. But large numbers of infected birds being in close proximity to humans raises the risk of re-assortment, creating a contagious strain with the potential to set off another influenza pandemic.

Tens of millions of ducks and chickens across Asia have been killed to prevent such a contagious strain from arising. But that is not enough. All captive birds that have been infected or exposed to the virus need to be eliminated. Launching a global appeal for help, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health and the WHO have pointed out that small farmers and struggling economies of the region cannot afford the huge cost of such a massive cull. Sufficient funds and technical assistance have to be provided to the affected countries quickly. There was only "a brief window of opportunity" to eliminate the threat of a pandemic, FAO's Director-General has warned.

In India, reports of an epidemic of bird flu (although of a different strain) among chickens in neighbouring Pakistan have jolted the Union Government into action. Last week, the Government banned imports of all domestic and wild birds. A joint monitoring group to watch over any outbreaks of flu among farm birds and people has been set up. Leading national laboratories, which can test samples for the influenza virus, have been put on alert. State Governments have been asked to be vigilant. But, as a leading scientist of the National Institute of Virology in Pune has pointed out, influenza surveillance, which ought to be a year round activity carried out by many centres, is "extremely limited" in India. Indeed, experts have long complained that the country lacks a proper surveillance system that can provide early warning of disease outbreaks and help in formulating suitable preventive measures. Such surveillance is badly overdue.

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