Nabarro saysthe global situation is improving due to increased vigilance. He saysnations have invested heavily in the way poultry is reared to reducethe threat of avian influenza. Nabarro also cites an increasedunderstanding of the link between animal and human diseases.
"Therehas been an extraordinary global response to the bird flu enzootic [endemic]. The current highly pathogenic bird flu virus does seem to bebeing brought under control reasonably well. It is not perfect. Itcould still come back up at any time if we do not watch it, but I amsaying there is good work being done," he said.
Nabarro praisesvarious efforts made by governments around the world to combat thevirus. Furthermore, Nabarro says donations from pharmaceuticalcompanies are helping to build a global stockpile of vaccine in case ofan avian flu pandemic.
"We do feel that it is prudent tocontinue to be prepared, especially as genetic studies of the currentbird flu virus show that it is continuously evolving," he said.
Despite the improved overall situation, Nabarro says the disease remains entrenched in five nations.
"Atthe beginning of this year, we were still seeing outbreaks of highlypathogenic avian influenza among poultry, but particularly in countrieswhere the virus has become entrenched. That is, Indonesia, Vietnam,Bangladesh, Egypt. During this year, we had a particularly seriousgroup of outbreaks in India," he said.
Nabarro urges that nations put into place pandemic preparedness exercises.
