At the Global Health Summit organized by the United Nations in New York (USA) yesterday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed a seven-point strategy to prepare for and combat the spread of influenza:
1) Invest further in veterinary infrastructure;
2) Change poultry farming practices indoors;
3) Identify key activities in countries when outbreaks occur;
4) Increase the production of vaccines and antiviral treatments for influenza;
5) Strengthen cooperation in scientific research to prevent influenza outbreaks and publicly share information about the disease;
6) Announce significant findings regarding influenza viruses to prevent outbreaks;
7) Enhance political leadership at the highest levels during disease outbreaks.
Previously, Canadian pharmaceutical company Replicor announced that it has developed a compound to treat influenza, including H5N1, with successful trials conducted on mice.
Yesterday, authorities in Ibaraki, eastern Japan, ordered the culling of 180,000 chickens on a farm after detecting avian influenza antibodies in these animals. Although the H5 virus has not been detected, the number of dead chickens on this farm has rapidly increased.
TH.TU. (According to Manorama, AFX)
