A leading virologist who heads one of the World Health Organisation's
influenza centres says a failure by mainland officials to provide
sufficient information on the latest bird flu outbreak could hamper
efforts to control any potential epidemic.
Masato Tashiro, director of the WHO's collaborating centre for influenza
in Tokyo, told the South China Morning Post he was unhappy with the way
mainland officials were handling both the bird flu incidents in Fujian and
the recent pneumonia outbreak in Guangdong.
"Controlling an influenza epidemic is a global matter. But we do not have
much information despite repeated inquiries to the Ministry of Health. We
are worried that it is a beginning of an epidemic," he said.
The Tokyo centre is one of the four WHO collaborating offices for
influenza. The other three are in London, Atlanta and Melbourne.
"It is crucial that we know about the transmission route of the virus -
where and when the Hong Kong man and his son caught the virus," Dr Tashiro
said.
Speaking from Tokyo yesterday, he added that the WHO and international
scientists should press harder for an opportunity to join the
investigation in China.
Hong Kong's Department of Health confirmed earlier this week that a
33-year-old Hong Kong man, who died on Monday, and his nine-year-old son
became the first humans infected with H5N1 since 1997.
Moves were stepped up yesterday to test relatives of the man and his son
in Pingtan, Fujian province, where the family gathered for the Lunar New
Year.
Dr Tashiro said he was concerned about whether there was any link among
bird flu incidents in Hong Kong farms and parks recently and the Guangdong
pneumonia outbreak.
The WHO has activated the global flu response plan for the first time
since 1997, when six out of 18 people infected died of a bird flu strain
previously not seen in humans.
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong said yesterday:
"There is no immediate risk of any pandemic and we are on top of the
problem."
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