Laos is still free of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, despite recent outbreaks in neighbouring countries, the Head of the National Emerging Infectious Disease Coordination Office, Dr Bounlay Phommasack, told Vientiane Times on Friday.
However, the Ministry of Health has ordered the relevant sectors to work together to closely monitor for the virus, to ensure no outbreaks occur in Laos.
The virus has killed eight people in Cambodia in the past two months, according to a Xinhua news agency report last week.
“Since we received the announcement from the ministry a few weeks ago, the office has worked closely with central and local authorities to monitor people around the country who have symptoms like fits of coughing or headaches and runny noses, but we have not found any people infected with the virus yet,” Dr Bounlay said.
To prevent the virus spreading into Laos, the National Emerging Infectious Disease Coordination Office, in cooperation with various government agencies, will carry out more checks on livestock imports and exports as well as observing visitors in certain target areas.
“We had outbreaks of the H5N1 virus from 2004 to 2009, which resulted in two deaths in 2007, but most of the infections were restricted to poultry,” said Dr Bounlay.
Thousands of birds were culled to prevent the virus spreading, with outbreaks affecting the price and consumption of poultry throughout Laos.
“Most outbreaks occur in areas where poultry breeders seem not to care about prevention and ignore their responsibility to keep coops clean,” he commented.
“Laos will be at risk from bird flu at any time if all sectors, including government and private bodies, fail to cooperate fully to prevent its outbreak,” he added.
Annual flu epidemics kill 250,000-500,000 people each year and cause severe illness in 3 to 5 million others worldwide. But the new strains that jump from animals to humans can be even more devastating if the global population has no immunity to them.
More than 234 people have died of bird flu since 2003, mainly in Indonesia, Vietnam and China, according to Care International.
By Times Reporters (Latest Update March 12, 2013)
