The curtain was eventually drawn for the Senior Official Meeting (SOM), and health officials are ready to table its draft resolutions focusing on surveillance, rapid response and containment, while World Health Organization experts held that there was no indication to increase or decrease the alert level.
Dr. Siriporn Kanchana, Deputy Public Health Permanent Secretary, said that the deliberations have been fruitful. Updating and exchanging of information via teleconference among SOM in Bangkok, WHO representatives in Geneva, American experts and World Bank officials in Washington DC have enlightened keen interest on clinical and epidemiological issues of the participants.
Participants also discussed with Dr. Anne Schuchat, Acting Director-General of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via live teleconference. Dr. Schuchat reiterated that the key ingredients to handle the H1N1 outbreak in the US included the full-fledge understanding of the virus characterization, the mitigation of the problem implemented via effective drug distribution system and efficient communication to the general public.
Dr. David Nabarro, Head of UN System Influenza Coordination (UNSIC) underlined the full collaboration and possible support in terms of technical and finance with the collaboration of the World Bank. He also indicated that stockpiles of medicines and vaccines were a great concern of ASEAN+3. Technology and information transfer should be fully explored and encouraged as more than 500 populations in ASEAN are under heath threat.
Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s Assistant Director-General of Health Security and Environment said that WHO could go both ways, not only to increase the alert level from five to six but also to drop from five to four or even lower accordingly, once the situation becomes under control.
Dr. Supamit Chunhasutiwat indicated that the direction of the meeting recognized the dynamics of the global spread and the region is required to brace together against this challenge. However, an ease on international travel restriction much needed during the economic downturn was suggested while preventive measures should be shifted to exit screening. Such measures will be beneficial once cities, not countries, are officially identified and bear the burden of the screening.
Besides, most experts saw gaps in Research and Development in order to understand the virus infection process, its transmissibility and the ability to prevent and control the infection effectively. As such, social distancing and risk communications emerges as necessary measures. Most senior health officials endorsed and followed international guidelines regarding preparedness plan including clearly and risk communication.
The meeting suggested that the ASEAN+3 meeting should also stress their preparedness plans to be reviewed and implemented. Focus should be made on rapid and effective surveillance and responses as spelled out in International Health Regulation (2005) emerging from avian influenza epidemic.
For the current update of the situation, Dr. Siriporn said that at the moment the outbreak was mostly spread in North America and Europe. In Asia, only Hong Kong, South Korea and China were among the outbreak area while Guatemala and Sweden were the new countries which have recently had the confirmed cases. There were no further reported cases in Austria, Switzerland and Netherland.
In all, the SOM today caters policymakers, bureaucrats, technocrats relevant updated data and responses of concerned parties. Measures to prevent and control the imminent pandemic are successfully deliberated. Officials are fully ready for the approaching ministerial meeting tomorrow.
************************************************ 7 May, 2009
