Reply #11: Massive funding to affected areas FAST. "We are afraid that [View All]

[Hoping4Change]

this might be a watershed moment," WHO spokesman Peter Cordingley said in Manila.

Vietnam said on Thursday it has appealed for international help in its desperate battle against a rapidly spreading outbreak of bird flu which has killed 13 people in the past month and may have crossed into Cambodia.

The WHO already fears the virus may have reappeared in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, all poor countries where surveillance systems are weak at best.


http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/02/...




Domenech said affected countries will need hundreds of millions of dollars from donors to sustain a prolonged fight against the disease.

Host Vietnam, where bird flu resurfaced in 35 of 64 provinces, has ramped up surveillance systems and imposed tough restrictions on poultry movements.

But like many poor countries hit by bird flu, it has limited knowledge of the virus, its veterinary staff need training and its labs are poorly equipped.

Nearly 140 million birds have been slaughtered or died in the Asian epidemic, and the financial cost is already up to $10 billion, according to some estimates.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/02/...