New outbreaks in Asia as bureaucrats argue over bird flu

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New outbreaks in Asia as bureaucrats argue over bird flu

By M. Gitlin | Published: December 16, 2008 - 07:13AM CT

Perhaps I'm too cynical, but it sure seems that international

organizations like the IPCC and WHO are as much about sitting in

conferences failing to agree about things just as much as they're

about fixing serious global threats. We've already tackled the IPCC

meeting in Poznan elsewhere, but while this meeting was underway, the

World Heath Organization also got together to work on their plan for a

pandemic avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak. As is so often the case,

money got in the way, specifically unresolved intellectual property

issues over viruses and vaccines, but thankfully for everyone

involved, an acceptable text was agreed upon, according to

Intellectual Property Watch.

At issue was the need for countries to have access to different

influenza virus strains, and vaccines, in preparation for a possible

pandemic outbreak. Several days of diplomatic wrangling arrived at the

following compromise text: " Recognize that member states have a

commitment to share on an equal footing H5N1 and other influenza

viruses of human pandemic potential and the benefits considering these

as equally important parts of the collective action for global public

health. "

The matter isn't completely settled though, with no agreement between

nations on what can or can't be patented when it comes to viruses,

viral fragments, or techniques related to vaccines. Perhaps

understandably, many view public health efforts concerning pandemic

diseases to be a different level of priority to, say, hard drives, and

feel that saving tens or hundreds of millions of lives should come

before a single stakeholder's ability to profit from such an event.

Hopefully all those issues can be worked out in May at the next WHO

meeting on the topic.

Although there is far less of a media buzz surrounding H5N1 than a

couple of years ago, the disease is still endemic in Asia. The Indian

state of Assam has just culled more than a quarter of a million birds

in the past two weeks following the identification of H5N1-infected

poultry recently, and there have been recent human infections in

Cambodia and Indonesia. Hong Kong has also confirmed the first avian

cases in the city for several years.

Luckily for the rest of us, H5N1 still seems very hard for humans to

catch; it still requires contact with infected poultry, and fears of

mutations that would set the stage for a human pandemic have yet to

materialize. That's fortunate, since the mortality rates for H5N1 are

still enough to make you hide behind the sofa—of 139 cases in

Indonesia, 113 were fatal!

Even if H5N1 isn't set to ravage our shores just yet, plain old

regular influenza is doing the winter rounds, and the CDC recommends

that the young, old, and at risk should get vaccinated against current

strains. You can find out more about who should or shouldn't get

vaccinated, as well as where to go to do so, over at the CDC's site.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081216-bureacrats-argue-over-bird-flu-plu\

s-new-outbreaks-in-asia.html