WHO warns army may be needed to fight bird flu

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In einer eMail vom 14.01.2006 08:56:26 Westeuropäische Normalzeit schreibt rboylern@...:

>Er...um ... and what if the military is striken severely? A large percentage of the >military live in close quarters - perfect for spreading infections.

I assume there will be special ABC-units, with special vehicles and cloths

[Guest guest]

WHO warns army may be needed to fight bird flu

By Pilling in Tokyo

Published: January 13 2006 02:00 | Last updated: January 13 2006 02:00

The World Health Organisation yesterday predicted authorities might

need to use the army and police to quarantine about 120,000 people to

contain an initial pandemic flu outbreak of just 19 cases.

Hitoshi Oshitani, a consultant to WHO, said his estimates highlighted

the difficulty of formulating a rapid response toan initial outbreak

of mutated bird flu transmitted between humans.

Not only would such aggressive quarantining raise legal and human

rights concerns, he said, but knowledge about how to use antiviral

drugs as a preventative measure was limited.

Mr Oshitani, who presented his simulation at an international

conference in Tokyo, said the first requirement was rapid detection.

" Timeliness is key. If we do things the way we do right now, it will

probably be too late, " he said, adding that two weeks after an

outbreak was probably the absolute limit.

Experts said that preventing an outbreak from spreading rapidly would

be difficult even if there was timely confirmation. Kenji Fukuda, a

researcher at WHO's global influenza programme, said: " Right now we

do not know the optimum dosage or length of treatment for

prophylactic treatment. "

Officials said Roche, the Swiss pharmaceuticals company that

manufactures Tamiflu, was only now designing protocols to test

effective use of the antiviral as a preventative medicine. Still

experts said containment was the best hope of preventing a mutated

virus from spreading.

*The H5N1 avian flu virus that killed three people in Turkey has made

a small mutation that may adapt it more closely to infecting people

but it is still a long way from " going human " and starting a

pandemic, according to a largely reassuring genetic analysis released

last night by the World Health Organisation and UK Medical Research

Council, adds Clive Cookson.

The WHO's international flu centre in London said the mutation was in

the gene for haemagglutinin, a protein used by flu virus to attach

itself to host cells.

A similar mutation has been found previously in viruses taken from

human victims of H5N1 in Vietnam and Hong Kong.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6aa9e306-83d9-11da-9017-0000779e2340.html

[Guest guest]

Er...um ... and what if the military is striken severely? A large percentage of the military live in close quarters - perfect for spreading infections. Lee <jackalope_lepus@...> wrote: WHO warns army may be needed to fight bird fluBy Pilling in Tokyo Published: January 13 2006 02:00 | Last updated: January 13 2006 02:00The World Health Organisation yesterday predicted authorities might need to use the army and police to quarantine about 120,000 people to contain an initial pandemic flu outbreak of just 19 cases.Hitoshi Oshitani, a consultant to WHO, said his estimates highlighted the difficulty of formulating a rapid response toan initial outbreak of mutated bird flu transmitted between humans.Not only would such aggressive quarantining raise legal and human rights

concerns, he said, but knowledge about how to use antiviral drugs as a preventative measure was limited.Mr Oshitani, who presented his simulation at an international conference in Tokyo, said the first requirement was rapid detection."Timeliness is key. If we do things the way we do right now, it will probably be too late," he said, adding that two weeks after an outbreak was probably the absolute limit.Experts said that preventing an outbreak from spreading rapidly would be difficult even if there was timely confirmation. Kenji Fukuda, a researcher at WHO's global influenza programme, said: "Right now we do not know the optimum dosage or length of treatment for prophylactic treatment."Officials said Roche, the Swiss pharmaceuticals company that manufactures Tamiflu, was only now designing protocols to test effective use of the antiviral as a preventative medicine. Still experts said containment was the best

hope of preventing a mutated virus from spreading.*The H5N1 avian flu virus that killed three people in Turkey has made a small mutation that may adapt it more closely to infecting people but it is still a long way from "going human" and starting a pandemic, according to a largely reassuring genetic analysis released last night by the World Health Organisation and UK Medical Research Council, adds Clive Cookson.The WHO's international flu centre in London said the mutation was in the gene for haemagglutinin, a protein used by flu virus to attach itself to host cells.A similar mutation has been found previously in viruses taken from human victims of H5N1 in Vietnam and Hong Kong.http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6aa9e306-83d9-11da-9017-0000779e2340.html . Never place a period where God has placed a comma. - Gracie . Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. -Dr.Seuss . It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. - Duke Ellington

[Guest guest]

Yes, and the US Army system for flu monitoring and reporting was ended

so that we do not know their rate of infection. I wonder why it is not

re-established?

>

> Er...um ... and what if the military is striken severely? A large

percentage of the military live in close quarters - perfect for

spreading infections.