Meeting to tackle bird flu

About 400 scientists and health experts from 40 countries will attend the conference, at which more than 140 research programmes and studies will be addressed.

The conference will be held by the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and other partners from January 23-25.

The event will host seminars, mini conferences and workshops where experts will share ideas on the direction of scientific development and trends in bird flu treatment and prevention.

Chairman of the organising committee, Prof Prasit Palitpongarnpim, said the conference will focus on the need to improve outbreak prevention plans in humans and poultry including the development of a vaccine.

"It has been more than three years since the avian influenza virus H5N1 started to spread throughout east Asia and to the rest of the world. The number of deaths is rising and the economic impact is enormous. This reminds us that the threat of pandemic influenza is imminent and if happens it may be catastrophic," he said.

Bird flu outbreaks have occurred in 14 countries since 2003. Severe symptoms have turned up in 349 people and 216 have died.

According to the World Health Organisation, the highest rate of mortality and morbidity is in Indonesia, where 117 people have caught the virus and 94 have died. Vietnam is second with 101 cases, of whom 47 have died.

In Thailand, 25 people have contracted avian influenza and 17 have died. Prasit said the cool winter weather this year would not cause an outbreak of the bird flu virus.

Dr Prasert Thongchareon, president of the Influenza Foundation (Thailand), said scientists and health researchers around the world were afraid that mutation of the H5N1 virus could cause higher incidents of the disease and increased morbidity and mortality among humans.

"We need more time to study and understand the H5N1 virus. We hope to share our knowledge at the international level and expect the outcome of this conference will be a key strategy in tackling the virus," he said.

The Thailand Virology Association's president, Dr Prasert Auewarakul, who has studied the mutation of bird flu, said Thailand should focus on prevention through anti-virus drugs. This could help the country reduce the severity of the disease and make it self reliant as regards medicine.

Dr Pilaipan Puthavathana, a Mahidol University Siriraj Hospital researcher, said more time was needed to answer questions about how the human immune system responds to the virus. 

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The nation