Despite outbreaks of avian influenza in some countries since the beginning of this year, the situation in the rest of the world is improving, UN System Influenza Coordinator David Nabarro said Tuesday.
"At the beginning of this year, we were still seeing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza among poultry, particularly in countries ... where the virus has become entrenched," Nabarro told a press briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Those countries included Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Egypt, India and "also to some extent Nigeria, where the situation has calmed down," he said.
"During this year, we had a particularly serious group of outbreaks in India, and also the Bangladesh situation persisted," he said.
"We remain very concerned about Indonesia, where the disease seems to be concentrated among poultry, particularly in Western Java, and we are also seeing the largest number of human cases," he noted.
"But if we look at the rest of the world, I can continue to report that the situation is really improving," said Nabarro. "I am pleased to report that governments throughout the world have been working hard on pandemic preparedness."
Nabarro cited the "intensive" responses taken by South Korea and Britain to counter the threat of outbreaks of bird flu, as well as financial sector exercises in Australia and the United States to prepare for the impact of potential avian influenza crises.
He said governments had invested massively in improving conditions in which poultry are reared and had increased their focus on the link between animal and human diseases.
But Nabarro stressed that "it doesn't mean that we can say that the situation globally is completely under control."
"We still have countries still quite entrenched, but it does mean that in the rest of the world, there is a great deal of vigilance and action underway," he added.
According to Nabarro, the spread of avian influenza reached 55 countries during 2006 and went into some 60 countries by the end of 2007.
(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2008)