Avian Flu: Romania Quarantines Village
By J. Grant Swank Jr. (10/08/05)
Taking no chances, the Romanian authorities quarantined a village, Ceanurlia de Jos.
Officials have discovered three ducks in that village with the virus, according to AFP.
At the same time, the United States Secretary of Health Mike Leavitt has convened representatives from 80 countries to discuss the threat of a pandemic due to the virus possibly spreading quickly globally. They have gathered in Washington DC for a two-day conference.
"’The world is woefully unprepared,’" Leavitt told CNN Thursday.
"’You'd think that it would be a matter of constant concern to us. It has not been, anywhere in the world and, consequently, the world is unprepared. And we're now as a civilization rallying to say, "What can we do to better prepare?"'"
In Romania, Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur informed media of the governmental action today. "’We have already imposed quarantine measures in the village and the health authorities in the Danube delta have been put on alert.’"
Avian flu could cause a billion humans to die globally, according to ABC News. That is why this week the Bush administration set in motion stockpiling $100 million worth of medicines. However, the vaccine is still in the experimental stage.
Romania is upping its experimentation in order to find a vaccine that can ward off a spread of the disease. The country’s anti-flu vaccination campaign is working overtime.
In the meantime, test results have been forwarded to an EU-approved laboratory in England. They will go through further tests.
"’The virus was probably carried into Romania by migrating birds from Russia,’ Flutur said."
Sixty-three persons have died in Southeast Asia since 2003 due to the bird flu, H5N1.
The World Health Organization informs media that the virus could mutate, threatening human beings by getting genes from the human influenza virus. The results could be "lethal, possibly killing millions worldwide."
Copyright © 2005 by J. Grant Swank, Jr.
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