All uncontrolled movements of poultry are a risk factor that might lead to outbreaks. This needs to be controlled much more. |
But it's not going to be contained in Vietnam if we get a pandemic of avian influenza. Within a very short time span it will spread all over the world. |
Dengue is not outside the tropical zone, it is not a threat for international public health, ... For Europeans or people from North America, the threat for dengue is if you visit (Asia), while with avian influenza if it mutates it will immediately be a threat for every household in the world. |
Extensive research shows that by combining common approaches to the drug problem with harm reduction methods such as drug substitution treatment, an effective response can be achieved, |
It is worrisome if health care workers are not alert and taking specimens if they suspect an influenza-type illness. |
This combination approach can not only avert an HIV crisis but also directly addresses the problem of drug use. |
This is not a Vietnamese problem; this is a global public health problem where Vietnam is at the front line, |
Vietnam is still probably not virus-free because it was so widely spread, but they've been able to suppress the virus load. We don't have any indications of any suspected human cases. In the past, there were some issues about the reporting, but that's not the case now. |
We are actually disease-free in Vietnam for the moment. We're probably not virus-free, but what the mass vaccination has done is reduce the virus load in the environment we have less virus circulating. |
We don't have any indication that there is not a good reporting system. |
We got no indication that the virus had changed. |
What we have seen in the last five or six months here is remarkable. If you had asked me eight months ago, I would have predicted a lot of human cases and poultry outbreaks in Vietnam, but that hasn't happened. |
While we have made impressive efforts at achieving results to tackle this epidemic ... we seem to be leaving some people behind. If there were some tendency that we leave the children behind in these global efforts, that would not only be unfortunate, it would be unacceptable. |