WHO launches “plan of war” to tackle avian flu

The H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Asia can be tackled if countries work together, top officials at the World Health Organization have said.

Shigeru Omi, regional director for WHO's regional office for the western Pacific region, which includes China, Thailand, and Vietnam, the countries in Asia worst affected by the outbreak, said, “We are at the tipping point—we can sit back and watch the situation get worse or react,” he said. “We are not powerless, and we can turn this around, but we have to do it vigorously and with energy.”

Dr Omi was speaking at the opening of a three day conference in Kuala Lumpur this week on how to implement risk reduction measures in Asia. The event was jointly organised by WHO, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Organization for Animal Health.

“We have to come out of this conference with a …