And what we have now, almost certainly we think, is sick chickens who are showing no symptoms, and that is very, very bad. They are silent carriers of the virus. |
Asia is still the weakest link in pandemic preparedness when compared with what is underway in Europe. |
Even in Hong Kong, where awareness about avian influenza is high, there are still incidents of inappropriate behavior. Chickens imported from China are subject to rigorous health checks, and smuggling them into Hong Kong without these checks poses a health threat. |
Every single human infection that is reported is a cause for concern and the threat of a bird flu pandemic grows from month to month. |
I think one of the things the Malaysian authorities will be looking at is the issue of the smuggling of fighting cocks. These animals are one of the 'silent' issues that have not been fully investigated. |
It is a serious, serious situation. |
Public health systems now, where there's the money, are much, much better. |
The fact that we've now had human cases in Indonesia certainly makes us think again about the possibility we'll see human cases in China. |
There's a lot of anxiety (in Europe). The result of this could be that governments might focus on domestic preparedness and forget the fact that ground zero is Southeast Asia. |
This is a terrible tragedy and we will do all that we can to help. |
This is now spreading too quickly for anybody to ignore it. |
We are looking to this conference for a return, if you like, to the spirit of SARS. |
We are very keen to see generic versions of this anti-viral drug available, but we will not pressure Roche to do so (relinquish its patent). |