17 July 2006
USDA Specialists Helping Launch FAO Animal Disease Crisis Center, July 14, 2006(Current focus of crisis management center will be avian influenza)
By Marissa Eubanks
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sending four veterinary specialists to Rome to assist the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in launching a new crisis-management center to coordinate multinational rapid responses to avian influenza and other diseases.
The center, which will begin operation by the end of July, will focus on the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus, known as bird flu, according to a July 14 USDA press release. The United States is providing $1.8 million to FAO for the center, and other contributors include France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
“The international community has a responsibility to equip countries, particularly developing countries, with the expertise and resources necessary for a rapid and effective response to any possible animal disease outbreaks,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns.
The FAO-managed center, working closely with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), plans to track the spread of the H5N1 virus in and among countries and coordinate response efforts. The center also will collaborate with the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO).
This strain of bird flu emerged in Southeast Asia in late 2003 and has killed more than 200 million birds through either disease or culling to prevent disease spread. Because humans have no natural immunity to H5N1, health officials warn that pandemic influenza could break out if the virus develops the capability to pass easily from person to person. As of July 14, WHO has confirmed a total of 230 human cases of H5N1 avian influenza in 10 nations. Of these cases, 132 people have died. (See related article.)
The United States has pledged a total of $334 million to the international campaign against the spread of the virus in animals and humans. (See related article.)
International cooperation is key to controlling the spread of the disease, says U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky. The threat of the emergence of a pandemic flu strain is greatest in underdeveloped regions of the world, where humans and domestic birds live in close proximity and health care systems lack state-of-the-art capabilities to identify, diagnose, treat and contain disease, she told reporters recently. (See related article)
According to the USDA press release, the FAO operations in the new center will target:
• Strengthening intelligence about the disease and emergency preparedness;
• Examining the role of migratory birds in the spread of avian influenza;
• Enhancing field surveillance, laboratory capabilities and global avian influenza surveillance and early warning capabilities;
• Analyzing the social and economic consequences of both the disease and its control; and
• Advising governments on disease surveillance and control, and broad awareness and risk communication.
For more information on avian influenza and efforts to combat it, see Bird Flu.
