. | . |
EU Presses China Over Bird Flu Fight Brussels (AFP) Jan 16, 2006 The European Union's health chief pressed China and other Asian states Monday to coordinate better in fighting bird flu, as he headed for Beijing for a conference on the global threat. "Better co-ordination at the global level is necessary to tackle the spread of avian flu and any possible outbreak of a human influenza pandemic," said EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou. "Asia, and in particular China, is at the forefront in this fight. Improved surveillance, transparency and technical cooperation within the region and with the EU is key to win this battle," he added. China is considered one of the places where bird flu could mutate to a strain capable of human transmission, triggering a global pandemic that could spread like wildfire and kill millions. But after its cover-up of the SARS respiratory disease crisis in 2003, Beijing has been praised for its transparency in tackling bird flu by the World Health Organisation and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. The European Union is co-hosting the Beijing pledging conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, along with China and the World Bank. The European Commission is set to pledge 100 million US dollars. Separately, Kyprianou also said he would press the Chinese authorities to clamp down on safety faults in exports of cheap goods such as plastic toys to Europe. Nearly half of dangerous consumer products found in the EU are imported from China, he said. "This has to change, and we are joining forces with the Chinese government and industry to better protect European and Chinese consumers."
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express More Bad Flu News Ankora (UPI) Jan 16, 2006 Avian flu has claimed a fourth human victim in Turkey, while in the United States the regular old flu has proven resistant to two drugs. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |