Leaders from 21 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region are calling for collaborative efforts to combat the avian influenza pandemic, emphasizing the importance of unity in vaccine development.
![Ap[1]](https://scimyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ap[1].jpg "APEC Wants to Collaborate Against Avian Influenza 41") |
The APEC Forum is taking place in South Korea |
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum opened on November 12 in the port city of Busan, South Korea. Leaders from participating countries are expected to discuss an action plan that highlights “collaborative efforts against the pandemic and the development of vaccines,” while also striving to enhance the clear sharing of all relevant information, according to South Korean Ambassador Kim Jong-Hoon, who is present at APEC. The forum will also address the issue of Tamiflu stockpiling and the potential easing of intellectual property laws concerning this medication in light of the looming pandemic.
APEC members also agreed to organize an independent workshop with APEC ministers in Vietnam during the first half of 2006, and a symposium on emerging infectious diseases in April in Beijing, China.
Last month in Australia, senior health officials and the World Health Organization discussed the “nightmare” scenario of an avian influenza pandemic, which poses a threat to millions of lives in the Asia-Pacific region. The workshop focused on how governments would respond if the H5N1 virus mutated into a new strain that could easily spread from person to person.
Mỹ Linh (according to AFP)
