New York - The avian influenza has been reported in 60 countries in the last three years, but governments have mounted "improved responses" against the pandemic that have kept it mostly in check, the UN said Thursday. David Nabarro, the UN's influenza coordinator, said the worldwide responses by most governments have led to improved measures to detect, contain and lessen the impact of dangerous pathogens. He warned, however, that the responses have been unequal and the risk remains that the bird flu virus could mutate into a strand easily transmitted among humans.
Nabarro presented a UN-World Bank assessment on responses to avian influenza, or bird flu, ahead of an international conference of ministers to be held in New Delhi December 4-6 to review the situation and plan for programmes in coming years.
"Pathogens are becoming more mobile as a result of increases in international travel and trade, and changes in the ecosystems," Nabarro said at UN headquarters in New York.
"They cause diseases that threaten the health and well being of the entire world population," he said. "The long-term security of the human race requires all nations to prepare together - so that when new disease outbreaks and pandemics do occur, responses will be adequate and meet the needs of all people and not just a fortunate few."
The UN-World Bank report said avian influenza's H5N1 virus has spread in the last three years to East Asia and on to locations in North and West Africa, central Europe and as far as Britain. It said the highly pathogenic HPAI virus was reported in 15 countries in 2005, and H5N1 in at least 55 countries and territories in 2006.
By mid-2007, most governments had adopted prevention and control strategies worked out by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health. The strategies have helped to reduce to six the number of countries where the disease is known to be entrenched, the report said.
"Under present conditions, most other countries are able to control outbreaks when they occur in other settings," it said.
The report was based on data provided by 143 countries, with a majority saying they are prepared to deal with an outbreak of avian influenza.
Governments in past years have provided more than 2 billion dollars to support programmes against avian influenza, which has killed dozens of people in many countries, most of them in Asia.
