Bird Flu Is Underreported In Africa, Allowing Spread

/noticias.info/ Bird flu has affected more countries in Africa than the four nations that have officially reported outbreaks, and reluctance to publicly disclose infections is contributing to the virus's spread said a World Health Organization (WHO) official, Agence France Presse and Bloomberg (03/20) report.

Nigeria, Egypt, Niger and Cameroon are the only countries that “dared announce their results,” the WHO's representative in Gabon, Andre Ndikuyeze said. “Others haven't been so brave and have not taken the necessary steps, which is another factor in the spread of the epidemic.” As widely pointed out by numerous experts, bird flu poses a particularly worrying threat for Africa, which lacks the basic healthcare and infrastructure of the developed world, and where poultry and humans tend to live in close proximity. Also, any large scale slaughtering of poultry, the best weapon against the virus, is bound to have severe economic and nutritional consequences in an impoverished continent where the chicken plays such an important role in diet. Representatives from the WHO, the United Nations, aid organizations and governments are scheduled to meet in Gabon Monday for three days of talks aimed at galvanizing a pan-African response to avian influenza.

Bloomberg (02/18) further notes the WHO said that more studies are “urgently” needed to determine how bird flu patients can be best treated with oseltamivir, the antiviral drug marketed by Roche Holding AG as Tamiflu. The WHO cites the current uncertainty of the optimal dosage which has not yet been determined during clinical trials as well as the fact that H5N1 infections continue to have a high mortality rate as the reasons for urging more studies.