World Health Assembly urges for action against Pandemic Influenza

The WHO World Health Assembly , which met in Geneva between 16-25 May 2005, underlined the importance of influenza pandemic preparedness.

Deeply concerned by the recent outbreaks in the Avian flu crisis in Asia, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution that urges member states to:

 Implement national preparedess planning;
 Strenghten surveillance, early-warning systems and cooperation with other relevant authorities;
 Increase seasonal vaccine coverage so as to lead to availability of greater global vaccine-production capacity;
 Consider developing domestic influenza-vaccine production capacity
 Communicate clearly with health-care workers, and
 Support actively an international research agenda.

This resolution follows a very alarming report from the WHO secretariat in April 2005 indicating the first case of a health-care worker hit by avian flu.

Most alarming though, was the following statement: "no virus of the H5 subtype has probably ever circulated among human beings, and certainly not within the lifetime of today’s world population; population vulnerability to an H5N1-like pandemic virus is universal".

 Related EPHA section
 Streghtening Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response , WHO report, April 2005