International health officials meeting in Bangkok expressed grave fears Friday that the evolving avian flu virus could result in a pandemic. A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official said the conditions are ripe for a new pandemic, and that the resiliency of the H5N1 virus makes it a likely candidate for an international outbreak. "We are closer now to an influenza pandemic than at any time in recent years," said Dr. Shiferu Omi, WHO's Western Pacific regional director. He and public health ministers from 13 Asian nations noted that influenza pandemics occur cyclically, every 20 to 30 years, and that another one is overdue. The unprecedented geographic spread and impact of the H5N1 virus in poultry, and evidence that it is becoming more versatile, would make its eradication impossible, they warned. In addition to killing humans, the virus has also affected other animal populations, most recently tigers in a Thailand zoo. The two-day public health crisis meeting ended with pledges to coordinate regional efforts of detection and containment in fowl populations. Officials also called on the international community to become involved in developing vaccines, and safer methods of animal husbandry to limit human and other animal's exposure to the virus. "It is possible that this pandemic could start in Asia, but once it starts, no country will be safe from it," Dr. Omi said. The greatest danger would be the eventual morphing of the virus, which could occur if it entered a human or animal already infected by a different kind of influenza, explained Dr. Suchai Charoenratanakul, Thailand's deputy public health minister. If that occurred, the DNA could mix and create a new virus strain transmittable among humans, or even pigs and humans, he said. "If we are very aggressive from the beginning, the chances of reducing the effects on humans will be greater," said WHO Assistant Director General Asamon Baah. "Prevention is about getting resources and systems in place before it happens, so that when it does we won't be surprised."
