ALKHOBAR, 7 November 2005 — As the bird flu panic increases in the Kingdom with people euthanizing their pet birds and shunning chicken at mealtimes, there is a dire need for the community to turn to trusted sources for information on the potential avian influenza pandemic. With that in mind, the World Health Organization (WHO) is increasing its news dissemination in regard to the bird flu.

WHO is the United Nations’ specialized agency for health, operating outside the purview or control of any single government. WHO has set up an Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response on Avian Influenza at http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/index.html.

WHO has advised that Asia remains “ground zero” in the war on avian influenza. WHO is urging governments in other regions to strengthen the capacity of their public health systems to detect and respond to a possible influenza pandemic early and rapidly as the best defense. The organization underscored that antiviral drugs, such as TamiFlu (www.tamiflu.com), are only part of the solution. While these drugs can help slow an outbreak and allow time for vaccine development, they must be used responsibly to avoid the formation of drug-resistant strains.

“National preparedness plans should strike a reasonable balance between stockpiling antiviral drugs or vaccines and other important elements, such as strengthening surveillance, building up laboratory capacity, training personnel and developing efficient communication tools,” stated WHO.

For three days from today, more than 400 animal and human health experts, senior policy makers, economists and industry representatives will gather in Geneva to work toward a global consensus to control the H5N1 influenza virus in domestic animals and prepare for a potential human influenza pandemic. The meeting is co-organized by WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Bank. The goal of the meeting is to work toward a global consensus for controlling the disease in animals while simultaneously preparing for a potential human pandemic.

At its website, WHO has updated its section on Frequently Asked Questions About Avian Influenza (http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/avian_faqs/en/index.html). It has added a section on “Ten Things You Need to Know About Pandemic Influenza,” http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/pandemic10things/en/index.html. There is also a fact sheet on avian influenza at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avian_influenza/en/.

WHO’s information is straightforward, even sometimes brutal in clarifying the situation in regard to avian influenza and a possible influenza pandemic, but everyone who wants to approach this crisis armed with facts, rather than rumor, should spend 30 minutes learning about the disease. The FAO is emphasizing to consumers that avian influenza is not a food-borne disease and that even if present, the bird flu virus is killed by the heat of normal cooking. “There is no risk of getting avian influenza from properly cooked poultry and eggs,” said an FAO spokesman.

For now, the Kingdom has time to prepare to confront the avian influenza. WHO will alert the world when the pandemic threat increases. Six distinct phases have been defined to facilitate pandemic preparedness planning, with roles defined for governments, industry and WHO. The present situation is categorized as phase 3: A virus new to humans is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another.

In other words, go back to scrambling those eggs and barbecuing that chicken, but make a little time to check the WHO website daily and follow the recommendations found there.