Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Asia Pacific nations practice bird flu response

Nation members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conducted an avian flu response exercise on Tuesday.

Coordinated by Australia, the exercise tested communications, decision-making and response times across the Pacific Ocean.

Health officials vaccinate poultry in Medan, Indonesia.
Health officials vaccinate poultry in Medan, Indonesia. AFP photo from Yahoo News.

Scientists fear that once the bird flu mutates to allow human-to-human transmission, it poses the threat of a massive pandemic similar to the Spanish Flu that struck during World War I.

Most people that have been infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu were citizens of APEC countries. Indonesia and Vietnam have the highest number of cases so far.


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