Information
October 2005
Collaborating on the Animal-Human Health Interface
The likelihood that a pandemic influenza virus will emerge depends largely on how often humans are exposed to animal viruses, and whether they become infected with this animal virus. Opportunities for people to become exposed and infected will persist as long as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) continues to circulate in animals. Control of the disease in animals is the main way to reduce opportunities for human infection, and this will therefore reduce the likelihood of a pandemic emerging.
The unprecedented and widespread outbreaks of HPAI in many countries in Asia, and more recently in parts of Europe, have devastated poultry industries in the affected regions. As well, the Avian Influenza H5N1 strains - one of the more pathogenic HPAI - can infect humans, sometimes fatally. This has sparked growing international concern about a potential human influenza pandemic.
Addressing the potential pandemic threat posed by HPAI and other emerging animal diseases will require new partnerships and integrated response strategies that will involve veterinary and public health authorities at national, regional, and international levels.
In May 2005, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), with the World Health Organization (WHO), published a global strategy for the control of HPAI. The goal of the strategy is to progressively control and eradicate HPAI from the domestic poultry sector in Asia, thereby minimizing the global threat of a human pandemic. Challenges to this strategy that have to be managed include:
- Bio-security measures (preventing the spread of the virus from infected premises and the exclusion of infectious agents from uninfected sites) have been difficult to implement in some countries due to established farming and cultural practices;
- Many countries will require financial and technical support in order to effectively implement disease control strategies such as early detection, culling, bio-security, and movement controls;
- The FAO, OIE and WHO are encouraging, through their research networks, the rapid development of new methods for detection of the virus, and some affected countries will require additional epidemiological expertise, methodologies and tools to support their efforts.
Despite these challenges, international commitment to control HPAI is strong. HPAI control strategies have been successfully used by many countries to eradicate outbreaks in Europe (Italy and the Netherlands) and North America (Mexico, USA and Canada). By co-ordinating international support and working together, the Avian influenza pandemic threat can be addressed and decreased.
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