Asian countries unite to fight bird flu

THE 10 Asian countries hit by the rapid spread of bird flu that has killed at least eight people and threatens to develop into a large-scale epidemic vowed yesterday to fight it together.

The task the countries face loomed even larger as the lethal virus struck in China the birthplace of SARS and home to a vast poultry industry.

But the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the one-day meeting in Bangkok, also attended by EU and US officials, was a good start.

"This meeting is the beginning of the process. Quite clearly they're going to start to work together now," said WHO spokesman Peter Cordingley.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao reflected the urgency displayed by the WHO which, with two other international organisations, has called for money and expertise to launch an all-out war on the bird flu virus.

"Any epidemic must be eradicated as soon as it occurs to prevent it from spreading," the Chinese leaders said.

China is slaughtering poultry around three farms in three regions where bird flu was confirmed Tuesday, the latest of the quick-fire eruptions across Asia which the WHO described as unprecedented.

The Bangkok statement said "rapid culling" was the preferred solution to an outbreak. However, Indonesia said culling was not an option do due to lack of funds to compensate farmers.

But Pakistan agreed with experts' recommendations and ordered a cull of all chickens affected by the flu in Karachi.

The Bangkok statement promised a regional animal survey system to be plugged into the health network to make it easier to tackle diseases such as bird flu and SARS.

"Containment requires closer cooperation among governments, communities and businesses," it said.

The great fear is that the H5N1 avian flu virus might mate with human influenza and unleash a pandemic among people with no immunity available.

So far, there is no evidence of transmission between people. Infected humans are believed to have caught the virus directly from birds. However, a Hong Kong scientist said the unusually large number of ducks dying from bird flu in southern China indicated the bug has become more virulent, which would put more people at risk of contracting the virus.

"H5 viruses are generally less fatal to ducks, so it is uncommon for so many ducks to die. This means this particular H5N1 strain has become more virulent," said virologist Leo Poon from the University of Hong Kong.

"This means it can cause extensive deaths in poultry and this may in turn increase the chance of more people contracting it."

However, little appears to be available to fight the bird flu. There are no vaccines for it because the bird flu virus has mutated since first crossing the species barrier in Hong Kong in 1997.