AlQa'dah 11, 1434, Sep 17, 2013, SPA -- The U.N. food agency issued a new warning Monday that bird-flu viruses continue to pose a serious threat to human and animal health, adding they will be a bigger risk during the upcoming influenza season. "Bird-flu viruses continue to circulate in poultry. Efforts must continue and be strengthened, not only in affected countries, but also in neighboring states and areas with strong trade linkages," Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) chief veterinary officer Juan Lubroth said at a joint meeting with the World health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Lubroth noted that while the world is more prepared to respond to the H7N9 and H5N1 avian-influenza viruses, it still is important to remain vigilant. "This is especially true for H7N9 since it causes no clinical signs in birds and is therefore very difficult to detect in poultry," he said. To address the issue, FAO has committed $2 million of emergency funding supplemented by more than $5 million from USAID to begin H7N9 response efforts. However, the two agencies have emphasized that more short-term work is required, including continued targeted surveillance and trace-back throughout the production and marketing system, and contingency planning. In the longer-term, FAO and USAID are urging countries to invest in improving the way they market and sell poultry.
