Pacific nations urged to improve birdflu plans

WELLINGTON, Sep 19 (Reuters) The World Health Organization (WHO) urged small Pacific islands nations today to do more to prepare emergency plans for a possible birdflu outbreak and human influenza pandemic, warning no nation could be immune.

WHO acting Western Pacific regional director Richard Nesbit said many countries did not currently have the capacity to deal with fast-breaking health threats, such as birdflu or a repeat of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

But he told a meeting of health authorities from Western Pacific nations, meeting in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, that a speedy emergency response could be crucial in containing a pandemic.

''If rapid interventions are successful, the severe adverse health, social and economic consequences expected to result from a pandemic might be prevented,'' he said.

The WHO's Western Pacific meeting brings together some of the world's smallest island nations, alongside China, Japan, Australia, Singapore the Philippines and many Southeast Asian nations which have already suffered from birdflu outbreaks.

The WHO declared SARS to be contained in July 2003, but says the Asia-Pacific region remains the frontline against the deadly H5N1 avian flu, first detected in the region in 2003 and now well entrenched in poultry.

Since 2003, 246 people have contracted the virus in 10 countries, and 144 people have died.

But authorities are worried the virus will mutate into a kind that can be passed easily from human to human, resulting in a pandemic that could kill millions.

So far, Pacific Island nations have not suffered any cases of birdflu, but the virus has spread from Asia to Europe, West Asia.

WHO spokesman Peter Cordingley said the Auckland meeting spent some time discussing birdflu preparations, adding many countries did not have the money or resources to implement full emergency plans.

But he said it was crucial for all nations to understand the threat and that authorities believed the virus was being spread by either migratory birds or though the worldwide trade in poultry products.

He said no country could consider itself immune, and a potential pandemic could spread quickly to remote nations due to the speed of modern transport.

''It will travel at the speed of a 747 jet,'' Cordingley told Reuters from Auckland. ''We're asking everybody to take precautions.'' REUTERS DKA BS15376