Rich nations should share birdflu antivirals

HONG KONG, Aug 22 (Reuters) Public health experts have called on wealthier nations to share scarce antiviral drugs and vaccines with poorer countries in Asia as the world gears up to tackle a possible influenza pandemic.

In an article published in The Lancet on Aug. 22, they warned that poorer nations may refuse to share vital information and cooperate with the rest of the world without an equitable distribution of drugs.

''If this (equitable drug distribution) were to prove unattainable, some have warned of a potential risk that poor countries in the region would be reluctant to cooperate with the international community, eg. by providing information to assist with disease surveillance, or isolates of the virus to facilitate vaccine development and production,'' the experts wrote.

Richard Coker and Sandra Mounier-Jack at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine made their recommendations after assessing national influenza preparedness plans of some countries in Asia and compared them with those of Europe.

They applauded Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand for their ''detailed guidance manuals'' to handle such a catastrophe, and called on Thailand, China and Vietnam to follow suit.

The latter three nations are building capacity to detect and respond to disease, but the authors suggested that these plans be complemented with operational guides giving details about implementation and management of available resources.

''A pandemic might not wait until capacity is developed.

These operational guides would need to be modified as capacity grows,'' they said.

Contingency plans in Europe and Asia had the same failings.

''Most plans did not adequately address operational responsibility at the local level; logistical aspects of vaccination and antiviral stockpiling, distribution and delivery; or the maintenance of essential services,'' they said.

The report also urged regional institutions in Asia, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to develop regional contingencies as the public health threat is a ''transnational'' one.

It also highlights growing concerns about monetary pledges to help poorer nations combat an influenza pandemic. It appears now that much of the funds ''would be made available as loans rather than grants and that tangible benefits to populations in the region would not be certain''.

''The slow pace of disbursement of funding has also been criticised,'' they wrote.

REUTERS SK BST0529