HEALTH
Bird flu watch needs integrated approach
- Published: 10/02/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
A new law is needed to set up an integrated medical unit to maintain bird flu surveillance on humans and poultry, as well as diagnose the virus, a health researcher says.
Dr Ram Rangsin, a researcher at Phra Mongkut Medical College, said although the country's disease surveillance system was on a par with international standards, it could not deal efficiently with emerging infectious diseases such as the mutation of bird flu.
To optimise surveillance, there should be an integrated unit to keep a watch on humans and poultry and provide a one-stop service. Data from local communities, districts and provinces must be supplied to the unit.
He said legal amendments must be made to set up the unit.
Yukol Limlaemthong, director-general of the Livestock Development Department, said work was going on all the time to control any outbreak of bird flu. Areas prone to the deadly virus were examined twice a year and a massive clean-up of poultry farms was launched four times a year.
He played down fears of the virus mutating into a more lethal strain. He said although studies show there are some changes in viral genetic characteristics, they are not at a dangerous level.
He was confident existing preventive measures could contain outbreaks of the infectious disease. Vaccination of poultry would not be used, he said, as culling in infected areas would control an outbreak.
