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Bird Flu Huge Global Health Threat
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John Henry
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May 22, 2007 17:26 PDT
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"... Tell us, when shall these things be? and
what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the
world? And Jesus answered and said
unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall
come in my name, saying, I am Christ. ... And ye shall hear of
wars and rumours of wars ... and there shall be famines,
and
pestilences
, and earthquakes, in divers places. All
these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:3-8)
Pestilences are part of the 5 fold sign of "the beginning
of sorrows" as the birth pangs of a woman nearing the birth of her
child (cf. Gen 3:16; 1 Thess 5:3; Isa 13:8; Jer 13:21, 22:23, 49:24; Hos
13:13). To be a fulfillment of the Lord's prophesy here all these
signs must be simultaneously increasing as a woman in labor about to be
delivered. They are now, in our lifetime, all increasing at the
same time! The sorrows have begun and will continue through the 7
year Tribulation till the Lord Jesus returns and a new world is born!
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BIRD FLU HUGE GLOBAL HEALTH THREAT
May 16, 2007
By Eliane Engeler
GENEVA (AP) - The U.N. health chief on Wednesday harshly criticized
countries that do not share their H5N1 virus samples, accusing them of
crippling the world in the fight against a possible flu
pandemic.
"If you do not share the virus with us ... I would fail you,"
said Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health
Organization, in a speech to the agency's 193 member countries. Without
H5N1 samples from affected countries, Chan said that "you are tying
my hands, you're muffling my ears, you're blinding my
eyes."
Chan did not single out any country by name, but Indonesia and China have
been the main holdouts. Indonesia in particular has been locked in a
virus stand off with WHO since last year.
Though Indonesia's health minister Tuesday announced that the country had
shared three viruses with a WHO-accredited laboratory in Japan, it is
uncertain whether further viruses will be shared. Indonesia has
complained that the viruses it shares would be used for vaccines that its
population cannot afford.
China has also been less than forthcoming with bird flu samples. No H5N1
viruses have been received from China for nearly a year - during which
time Beijing has reported several human bird flu cases. China is readying
five virus samples to be shared with WHO, but it is unknown when they
will actually be sent, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said.
Chan said that a flu pandemic would be the greatest threat to global
health in the 21st century. Tracking H5N1's evolution is essential to
determine when virus mutations might enable it to be more easily spread
between people.
Without current bird flu samples, Chan warned that the global community's
current stockpiles - numerous countries have bought anti-viral and
pre-pandemic vaccine stockpiles - would be wasted. "I need the virus
to track new resistance patterns so that your investment in antivirals
does not go down the drain," Chan said.
Several experimental pre-pandemic vaccines based on H5N1 exist, but as
the virus continues to mutate, scientists need to match the latest
circulating strain to that in the vaccine, to ensure that the vaccines
would work.
Three draft resolutions on the sharing of bird flu samples and access to
a future pandemic vaccine are being scrutinized by an expert group at
WHO's annual gathering.
Key to the WHO's disease surveillance system, including early warning of
a flu pandemic, are the WHO's revised International Health Regulations on
preventing and responding to infectious disease threats which will come
into effect June 15.
Many countries - including the U.S. - have already adopted them, though
they remain voluntary. The new health regulations oblige countries to
report new disease threats with global public health significance, such
as new flu subtypes. They also allow the WHO to act on credible
information sources, rather than being reliant strictly on official
government channels. The regulations are not legally binding.
Chan said she would do her best to help countries implement the
regulations.
"We are not afraid of difficulties. What we're afraid of, is lack of
commitment on your part to deliver," she told WHO member
states.
AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng contributed to this report.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070516/D8P5PE9O1.html
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