Roy Wadia Quotes (24 Quotes)


    In large parts of China, especially in the countryside, over the last 20 or 30 years, the health system has been crumbling. You've got problems in terms of being able to provide basic health care to people. Surveillance is key to containing any outbreak, and to preventing any pandemicnot only in the animal sector, of course, but then you have to be able to also survey the human population.

    The virus is of course entrenched in the environment, not only in China but in many other countries.

    It's certainly a situation where the viruses need to be shared and not only shared but shared in a timely and consistent manner.

    Migratory birds are a pretty common reservoir of avian flu, although it would be hard to confirm the link,

    It's not a surprise. It shows that China like other countries that have bird flu in poultry can have human cases.


    It's still early days in terms of human cases being found in China. There isn't that much experience perhaps in dealing with possible human cases, and further support might be needed more now than perhaps later.

    It is entirely possible that more human cases will crop up now and then across China as outbreaks in poultry continue and as bird flu continues to be endemic in the environment.

    This is a way to drive home to all the people in China how dangerous bird flu is. We are certainly very encouraged that they are raising the alarm.

    As more outbreaks occur among poultry and animals around the world, and as more human cases occur, the virus has more chances to transmit more effectively from animals to humans, or possibly among humans as well.

    This is a psychologically telling moment for a country that has never had bird flu cases in the past in humans.

    Details and logistics still have to be finalized, but the commitment is there, and it is hoped that this sharing will serve as a template for a regular virus sharing mechanism for the future.

    The important thing is how the authorities handle the outbreak, how swiftly it is addressed and how quickly birds are culled. China in that practice has plenty of experience, so we are confident from the animal point of view the outbreaks are tackled as quickly as they can be.

    That was something that made China very upset indeed.

    The latest outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in poultry in China shows once again how entrenched this virus appears to be in the environment in this part of the world.

    It means that there is a question mark that hangs over the progress of the virus in China. It's perhaps more significant to get animal viruses, because this virus is still something that is primarily in the animal sector.

    They have taken the situation very seriously indeed -- including the high profile visit by the prime minister, observation of thousands of people, enforcing bird culls and vaccinating poultry,

    This is a reiteration of how much of a public health threat bird flu really is. Sometimes it takes a human case or a suspected human case to raise the alarm, to remind us that no country, whether China or anywhere else, can afford to be complacent.

    Chinese officials have acknowledged this and other challenges, and there is a commitment to improving the situation but change won't occur overnight.

    It is very possible that people will catch the bird flu virus.

    They will go back in time and review all the steps that have been taken, see if anything has been excluded or if any information that has been collected and not recognized as important.

    To put it mildly, it's a serious problem everywhere, not just in China. We haven't confirmed (the two deaths) in the sense that this is information given to us by China. It's not that we went out there and found out ourselves.

    If the animals in the area were sick and dying, and if they were dying in small numbers, it might have been very difficult to identify that as an outbreak.

    Although this is only a guess, there have been some examples in which human cases of bird flu were reported first and then the animal epidemic.

    It just shows you that anything can happen at any time. It's a very unpredictable situation, whether on the human side or the animal side.


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