Alert: first cases of bird flu emerged

The World Health Organization warned today that countries should be on alert for bird flu because it is again on the move, with Pakistan reporting new infections and Myanmar logging its first human case.

"The key to the public health response is surveillance," said Peter Cordingley, spokesman for the WHO Western Pacific region in Manila. "If we do actually get to the cases with antivirals early on, the health outcome is a lot better."

WHO experts arrived in Pakistan to try to sort out cases reported there, South Asia's first human infections. They were expected to visit a hospital and affected areas Tuesday, said WHO country representative Khalif Bile in Islamabad.

"They are here to get more information and to provide more support in the case of any potential risk," he said, adding that the Health Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and WHO are now working closely together following a "communication gap" when the government did not immediately report suspected cases to the WHO.

Four brothers and two cousins fell ill last month in Abbotabad, a small city north of Islamabad, while three others who slaughtered poultry in the same area and a nearby town tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus earlier this month.

Two of the brothers died, but specimens were collected from only one.

The cases were positive for H5N1 in initial government testing, but WHO will conduct further analysis to confirm the results.

"It starts to pop at this time of the year, not just in this region where it's endemic, but it starts to appear in the West," An expert said. "Between now and April is a very dangerous time of the year."

Associated Press

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