Prevention and control of avian influenza need to strengthen international cooperation

Introduction: Xinhua news agency, Rome, November 26 - at present, more and more countries are paying attention to the spread of avian influenza in some parts of the world The 33rd session of the FAO conference just concluded was devoted to a special session to find out how the international community can prevent and control avian influenza Countries have realized that avian influenza is an international problem, and no country can be alone Only when the international community works together, can it achieve actual results The harm of the outbreak of avian influenza to human production and life can not be ignored Experts pointed out that the key to control avian influenza is prevention, and the focus of prevention is to find ways to control the spread and spread of infectious sources FAO director general Diouf recently pointed out that there is more and more evidence that the spread of avian influenza virus is related to the migration direction of migratory birds, but people should not have psychological fear and panic about avian influenza, but should rationally, quickly and timely take action to prevent and control the disease thoroughly from the root causes Since the discovery of avian influenza cases in Asia at the beginning of last year, FAO, together with the World Health Organization, the world animal health organization and veterinary experts and scholars from various countries, has organized more than 20 regional and international conferences, and established a technical working group on highly pathogenic avian influenza to collect, analyze and disseminate all relevant information, so as to ensure human and animal health to the greatest extent To reduce the loss of agricultural production caused by avian influenza There are signs that with the advent of winter and migratory bird movements, the possibility of avian influenza virus transmission to Africa is increasing Once the avian influenza virus spreads to Africa, it will become a terrible disaster, because the local human health and veterinary service infrastructure is relatively backward, and there is a lack of adequate monitoring means In response, FAO called on the international community and those countries affected by the epidemic to invest more money, pay more attention to Africa, help Africa to strengthen the prevention of avian influenza and strengthen the capacity-building of public health facilities Despite many challenges, the international community is still confident in the prevention and control of avian influenza, because from the experience of some Southeast Asian countries, as long as appropriate measures are taken, the avian influenza epidemic can be controlled Facts have proved that only when governments and the international community work closely together to establish an effective disease control and prevention system can the epidemic of avian influenza be controlled From this point of view, reducing the spread of avian influenza among animals will undoubtedly help to protect human health itself Developed countries have more funds and means to prevent and control avian influenza and should take more active actions Recently, at the International Conference of the global health and safety initiative held in Rome, Italy, the health ministers of the G7 and Mexico have appealed to the world: countries should strengthen coordination efforts in the prevention and control of avian influenza, and prevent the spread of avian influenza virus from animals to humans In order to ensure the global public health security, countries need to pay more attention to the early monitoring and notification of avian influenza epidemic Therefore, the meeting decided to launch a "global health and safety initiative" information network to communicate the epidemic information of countries as soon as possible In terms of controlling avian influenza, it is not enough to have only good wishes FAO officials pointed out that it is estimated that it will cost hundreds of millions of US dollars to implement the global strategic plan for the control of avian influenza in the next three years to support disease monitoring, detection and vaccine development Unfortunately, the current plan still faces a huge funding gap In this regard, the International Conference of donors for the prevention and control of avian influenza, to be held in Beijing, China, on January 17 and 18 next year, will be an important opportunity for all countries to strengthen cooperation, show sincerity and move from wish to action.