UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization warns the risk of a bird flu pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa has increased markedly.
"One of our major concerns is now the potential spread of avian influenza through migratory birds to northern and eastern Africa," FAO's Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said Wednesday. "There is serious risk that this scenario may become a reality."
After the recently confirmed outbreaks of the disease in Romania and Turkey, the risk increased considerably that the migratory birds, which carry the deadly H5N1 virus, will spread the disease to other regions.
If the virus mutates into a form which transmits easily between people, it could evolve into a global influenza pandemic, U.N. health officials have warned.
FAO is particularly concerned about eastern Africa, where veterinary services could encounter more difficulties due to various constraints.
"If the virus were to become endemic in eastern Africa, it could increase the risk of the virus to evolve through mutation or reassortment into a strain that could be transmitted to and between humans," Joseph Domenech said. "The countries concerned, and the international community, have to make every effort to ensure that bird flu does not become endemic in Africa."
More than 110 human cases, with about 60 fatal cases, have been reported since the present outbreak started in Viet Nam and Thailand in January last year. About 140 million domestic birds have died or been slaughtered. All of the cases were reported in Southeast Asia.
Despite the confirmed outbreaks in Romania and Turkey, the risk to western and northern Europe is still low, the FAO said. The disease could spread to these regions by next spring if bird populations are infected during their stay in the southern countries.
