EUROPE/ITALY - World Health Organisation launches Global Influenza Preparedness Plan

Thursday, 27 October 2005

Rome (Fides Service) - The World Health Organisation has drafted a Global Influenza Preparedness Plan which defines the stages, highlights the role of WHO and gives recommendations to members states with regard to measures to adopt during in the case of a pandemic.
According to the WHO Italy is in the pre-pandemic alarm, stage 3, with human infections with a new sub-type but no passage from human to human or only rare episodes of inter-human transmission due to close contact. Stage 4 will consist in limited human to human transmission with a more localised diffusion. At Stage 5 the virus starts to adapt to humans but is not fully transmittable. Stage 6 is the pandemic period with lasting transmission in the whole population.
In view of the threatened pandemic, WHO recommends countries to take urgent action to prepare. Priorities include reduction of opportunities for human infection and reinforcing active surveillance system.
The danger of an emerging pandemic virus depends on opportunities for human exposition. These opportunities will persist to the extent that virus H5N1 continues to circulate in animals. Control of avian flu is therefore the chief way of reducing opportunities for human infection and a pandemic virus.
In the case of a pandemic virus, the main objective will be to delay the diffusion of the H5N1 virus with anti-viral drugs and then specific vaccine. (AP) (27/10/2005 Agenzia Fides; Righe:26; Parole:290)


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