Bird flu "has deadly friends"
Pastor Dale Morgan
Friday December 8, 6:11 PM Reuters
*Bird flu "has deadly friends"*
By Alistair Thomson
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Bird flu may be the tip of the iceberg.
Experts meeting in Mali say the deadly H5N1 virus is just one of a
plethora of diseases threatening animals and people around the world as
global warming, intensive farming, increased travel and trade help
dangerous microbes breed and spread.
"Avian flu is just one of many diseases that are impacting the continent
(of Africa). The experts are telling us that other diseases are going to
emerge or re-emerge," said Francois Le Gall, the World Bank's lead
livestock specialist for Africa.
"Almost every year there is a new disease appearing, and 75 percent of
these emerging or re-emerging diseases are coming from animals; 80
percent of those have zoonotic potential," he said in an interview.
Le Gall said such zoonoses -- animal diseases that humans can also catch
-- included Rift Valley fever, rabies and anthrax.
"These could come together to create what the experts are calling 'the
perfect microbial storm'," he said.
But Le Gall said progress being made to tackle the current bird flu
outbreak by strengthening veterinary and human health monitoring systems
around the world would temper the risk of an apocalyptic conflagration
of diseases.
"All the measures we are using now are going to be useful to control all
these emerging or re-emerging diseases -- like veterinary services,
public health services," he said.
What singles out bird flu is the potential of the virus to mutate into a
human form of influenza capable of passing from person to person, not
just from infected animals.
International health experts were winding up a three-day meeting in
Mali, the fourth global bird flu summit since late last year, aimed at
plotting strategies to halt the spread of the disease and seeking donor
funds for this campaign.
GLOBALISATION, CLIMATE CHANGE
"Remember that with globalization, and unprecedented movements of
merchandise, of people, there is a continuous transfer of pathogens,"
Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organisation for Animal
Health, told Reuters.
"This is made worse by climate change. Many disease vectors have
colonised new territories," Vallat said.
Some diseases were being spread by mosquitoes or other insects whose
larvae were previously killed off by cold winters, but who now survive
in temperate zones, he said.
"Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples. There is a disease called
blue tongue, which infects sheep, which for the first time in history
has attacked northern Europe, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and by
a vector that is capable of spreading the virus in this region, which is
unprecedented."
Blue tongue spreads via biting insects, but does not affect humans.
But West Nile Disease, which affects birds and was first found in Egypt
and is spread by mosquitoes, has killed hundreds of people in the United
States since it first spread there in 1999 -- probably via an imported
pet bird, Vallat said.
"Now the United States is completely infected, as well as southern
Canada and Mexico. In a few years this disease which was completely
unknown (there) has colonised all the eastern United States via a
mosquito vector," he said.
"Microbes can cross the world in a few hours," he said.
"The globalisation of exchanges of people, merchandise and commodities
is a phenomenon that affects the whole planet more and more each year.
It's a good thing, but it brings with it new risks. We have to be
prepared."