Intersecting risks

The United Nations considers avian flu a pressing problem for Ukraine, says Dr. David Nabarro, Senior UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, who visited Ukraine for a few days. “There is still a threat of bird flu in Ukraine because this is the problem that will come back to Ukraine,” he said. At the same time, Nabarro gave a positive assessment of Ukraine’s measures to curb the spread of the virus, Interfax-Ukraine reports. “The government of Ukraine promptly responded to the appearance of bird flu in the country. The ministries for emergency measures, agrarian policies, and public health promptly reacted and brought the situation under control. All the hotbeds of bird flu were quickly localized,” the UN official noted.

Nabarro emphasized that executive and public health bodies must be prepared to combat bird flu and for the situation that may arise when, as a result of mutation, this virus may be transferred from person to person. So far there is no precise information about when, or if, the H5N1 strain will mutate and begin passing from one human being to another. He says that specialists will be unable to produce a vaccine against this strain until the pandemic virus makes its presence known. It would take about six months to make the vaccine in the required quantity. In another development, Colin Wells, a UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expert, has denied reports that the avian flu virus may have been spread as a biological weapon. “Ongoing research amply proves that there are no suggestions that the virus emerged from a source other than natural mutation,” Wells said, adding that this virus has been studied for about five to seven years.

Francis O’Donnell, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, has praised President Yushchenko’s readiness to cooperate actively with international organizations and, if necessary, to offer other countries technical aid to combat the bird flu. Owing to Ukraine’s geographical position, there is a real danger that the virus may spread in this country. “Because of its geographical location, Ukraine is a place where birds’ migration routes intersect and it is thus a local center from which avian flu can spread,” he said.

O’Donnell also said that the world community will continue to help Ukraine fight the virus. He pointed out that Ukraine could cooperate with a number of international organizations, such as FAO, USAID, the World Bank, and EU structures.