Asian rehearsal against bird flu

From 2 April to 3 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners in Asia will conduct an anti-bird exercise to test Asia's ability to cope with the evolution of the epidemic. sick.

The exercise is called "Panstop 2007" and takes place under the command of WHO's Western Pacific Office in Manila, Philippines. Parties to this exercise include the ASEAN Secretariat, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the governments of Cambodia, Japan and Singapore.

The exercise will begin with the assumption that experts discovered in Cambodia a strain of H5N1 virus capable of transmitting from human to human, threatening the lives of people in the country and potentially spreading to other countries in the region. area.

Under the scenario, as soon as the above risk is discovered, Tamiflu drugs and protective equipment such as masks, goggles, etc. will be quickly transported from the stockpile in Singapore to Cambodia. These medicines and facilities are provided by Japan.

At the same time, after receiving information about the occurrence of the disease, Mr. Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director of the Western Pacific will call the governments of ASEAN countries to propose the transfer of Tamiflu and other protective supplies. personal protection to the affected area.

The exercise will take place under the direction of the Western Office
WHO Pacific Ocean. (Photo: AFP)

However, according to the WHO spokesman, Peter Cordingley, there will in fact be no transport of drugs from Singapore to Phnom Penh, as that requires going through customs procedures in both Singapore and Cambodia.

He said: 'Basically, we want to test the effectiveness of communications. When we tell customs about the content of the incident, who will decide? And how will the process of bringing drugs and supplies to the epidemic area be done? '.

Japan has provided 10 ASEAN countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - about half a million doses of Tamiflu and a large number of personal protection means can used for 700,000 people. All are currently stored in Singapore.

According to WHO, 'this is the first ever exercise aimed at testing the rapid response level of Southeast Asian countries in the evolution of bird flu and the ability to stop the spread of disease in this area '.

According to WHO data, since 2003, there have been 281 people worldwide suffering from bird flu and 169 deaths, mainly in Southeast Asia.

Scientists are concerned that the H5N1 avian influenza virus could be transformed into a new, potentially human-to-human virus, leading to a global pandemic that could kill lives. million people.

Minh Quang