# 4508
This week representatives from more than 80 countries are gathering in Hanoi, Vietnam for the 7th annual International Ministerial Conference on Animal and Pandemic Influenza.
Last week we got an early look at the draft Global Report (to be amended and revised after the conference), along with an number of resource documents.
We are starting to get some news reports filtering out of this conference, including this one featuring David Nabarro, the UN’s Senior System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, who is attending the conference electronically after his travel plans were disrupted by the Icelandic Volcano eruption.
Follow the link to read the entire interview.
INTERVIEW-Focus shifts to mid-sized farms to stop bird flu –UN
20 Apr 2010 06:31:42 GMT
Source: Reuters
HANOI, April 20 (Reuters) - Mid-size traders and farms that sell poultry to small farmers could act as avian flu transmission hubs and there needs to be to better biosecurity at that level, a top United Nations expert said on Tuesday.
Bird flu outbreaks have generally been dealt with by culling birds, but health authorities were now trying to look up the supply chain to identify possible sources of infection, said David Nabarro, the U.N.'s senior coordinator for avian and pandemic flu.
The United States has a contingent in attendance at the conference which includes representatives of the USDA, the State Department, and a name familiar to those who read this blog -the HHS’s Dr. Bruce Gellin, Director of the National Vaccine Program Office.
Here is the State Department press release on this meeting.
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 19, 2010
U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Edward Avalos, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health at Health and Human Services Dr. Bruce Gellin, are leading the U.S. delegation to the International Ministerial Conference on Animal and Pandemic Influenza (IMCAPI) in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 19-21. Assistant Secretary Jones serves as U.S. Special Representative on Avian and Pandemic Influenza.
The three-day conference is being hosted by the Government of Vietnam, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, and the European Commission. Representatives from foreign governments and international organizations around the world are attending the meeting to explore how best to combat pandemic influenza and bring greater attention to the interconnection between animal and human health, including the challenges that animal and pandemic influenza pose to the global community.
I expect well get more over the next day or two.
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