FAO says there's no need to panic again about bird flu

Introduction: Bangkok, July 28, Xinhua (Reporter Yuan Yuan Yuan) FAO officials said here on July 28 that at present, a small number of countries have reported another outbreak of avian influenza, but in view of the immediate monitoring and isolation measures taken by countries, the epidemic has been basically controlled and will not spread further "This avian influenza outbreak is characterized by a local and point-to-point outbreak, which is different from the large-scale and fierce situation at the beginning of this year," he changchui, assistant director general of FAO and representative of the Asia Pacific region, told Xinhua Since the beginning of July this year, avian influenza has revived in parts of China, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, and governments have taken swift measures to prevent further spread of the epidemic According to FAO, in less than half a month, tens of thousands of poultry have been slaughtered in a few farms affected by the outbreak "We believe that the measures taken by the governments of all countries are timely and effective Now the epidemic is basically under control and there is no sign of further large-scale spread," he said He also said that due to the small scale of the outbreak and the rapid response of the government, compared with the outbreak at the beginning of this year, the bird flu will not cause huge losses to related industries At the same time, he Changli also pointed out that the re emergence of the epidemic indicates that the region has not completely eradicated avian influenza, which still poses a threat to the safety of animals and human life He said that although experts have no final conclusion on the cause of the recurrence of avian influenza, governments must strengthen monitoring means and capabilities and take the epidemic control as a long-term work FAO began to hold a three-day regional seminar in Bangkok on the 28th, at which international organizations and experts from ten Southeast Asian countries will discuss how to strengthen regional cooperation so as to establish an effective network mechanism for epidemic diagnosis and monitoring In January this year, highly pathogenic avian influenza broke out in nine countries in the Asia Pacific region In the three months at the peak of the outbreak, about 200 million poultry were slaughtered, and 24 people died of avian influenza virus infection Many industries including poultry breeding and food processing and export were severely damaged