The regionalization of avian influenza in East Asia: Responding to the next pandemic(?)

Asian Survey

Volumn 46, Issue 6, 2006, Pages 917-936

  Thomas, Nicholas ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG   (Hong Kong)

Author keywords

China; H5N1, East Asia; Infectious diseases; Public health

Indexed keywords

AVIAN INFLUENZA; DISEASE SPREAD; INFECTIOUS DISEASE; PATHOGEN; POLICY IMPLEMENTATION; PUBLIC HEALTH; REGIONALIZATION;

ASIA; EURASIA; FAR EAST; SOUTHEAST ASIA;

AVES; AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS;

EID: 33846089473     PISSN: 00044687     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1525/as.2006.46.6.917     Document Type: Article

References (56)

1. Bernard Vallat, "Emerging and Re-emerging Zoonoses," World Organization for Animal Health, editorial, November 2004, , accessed December 2004. Zoonoses are communicable diseases occurring between humans and animals.
2. Note: There are non-highly pathogenic strains of H5N1 in circulation, but the focus of this paper is on HPAI H5N1.
3. Dennis Pirages and Paul Runci, "Ecological Interdependence and the Spread of Infectious Disease," in Beyond Sovereignty: Issues for a Global Agenda, ed. Maryann Cusimano (New York: St. Martins Press, 2000), p. 176.
4. Cusimano, "Editors Preface to Chapter Seven," in ibid., p. 174.
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6. Hal Colebatch and Peter Larmour, Market, Bureaucracy, and Community (London: Pluto Press, 1993), pp. 28-39.
7. Nature.com, "Avian Flu Timeline," , accessed June 15, 2005.
8. FAO, "History of H5N1 Virus Circulation in South-East Asia before 2004," , accessed May 2005. Reassortment occurs when viruses exchange genes during replication; such mutations can allow old viruses to act in new ways.
9. "HK to Resume Imports of Live Chickens from Mainland China," Japan Economic Newswire, June 11, 2001.
10. T. M. Tumpey, D. L. Suarez, L. E. L. Perkins, D. A. Senne, J. G. Lee, Y. J. Lee, I. P. Mo, H. W. Sung, and D. E. Swayne, "Characterization of a Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza A Virus Isolated from Duck Meat," Journal of Virology 76:12 (June 2002), pp. 6344-55.
11. Frank Ching, "A Pox on Chicken," South China Morning Post, March 1, 2003. Although these figures are technically correct - insofar as only one person died in Hong Kong during this outbreak - they cover up the fact that the daughter died on the mainland of pneumonia (a possible misdiagnosis of HPAI H5N1).
12. See Mary Ann Benitez, "Migratory Birds Linked to Avian Flu Virus: Dead Geese and Ducks Have Been Found in Four Locations across Hong Kong," ibid., February 25, 2003.
13. Leu Siew-ying, "We Have No Cases, Say Fujian and Guangzhou," ibid., February 20, 2003.
14. It is, however, worth noting that in late 2005 reports from Chinese health authorities acknowledged that two siblings who died in 2003 after traveling to Fujian Province contracted H5N1 of the same strain that first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997. The stability of this strain may lend further weight to the argument that the HPAI H5N1 strain has probably been responsible for human fatalities in mainland China for a far longer period of time than has been officially acknowledged. See Mary Ann Benitez, "Mainland Bird Flu Close to HK Type," ibid., Deceniber 21, 2005.
15. In-between the 2003 Hong Kong and South Korean outbreaks, another strain of avian influenza, H7N7, emerged in the Netherlands, infecting 83 people with flu symptoms and conjunctivitis. One person died.
16. "New Bird Flu Case Confirmed as South Korean Poultry Consumption Falls," Financial Times Information, February 6, 2004.
17. "1st Bird Flu Plague since '25," Asahi News Service, January 13, 2004.
18. "Tests Point to Avian Flu in 28,000 Chicken Deaths," ibid., February 24, 2004. Shortly after the first Japanese case was noted, Taiwan also declared an outbreak of avian influenza. However, tests revealed a less pathogenic strain of H5N2.
19. "Thailand Insists Its Chickens Free of Bird Flu," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, January 14, 2004.
20. "Thailand Free of Bird Flu: PM," Xinhua News Agency, January 15, 2004.
21. "Senator Says Thailand Has Its 1st Bird Flu Case," Japan Economic Newswire, January 22, 2004.
22. "Thailand to Train Officials on Bird Flu Controlling," Xinhua, August 28, 2004.
23. For a summary of the ways in which the Thai government is providing assistance to industry, see "Government Extends Help to Poultry Related Businesses Affected by Bird Flu Outbreak," Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, October 11, 2004.
24. See, for example, "Government Insists Bird Flu Will Not Mutate," ibid., July 12, 2004.
25. "Thailand: Sparrows, Pigeons Found with Bird Flu Virus," ibid., October 20, 2005.
26. "BT50 Million for Bird Flu Vaccine Research," ibid., February 21, 2005.
27. "Thai Villagers Mobilized to Cull Poultry," Channel News Asia, November 7, 2005.
28. "Chicken Imports Banned, Vietnamese Officials Admit Earlier Knowledge of Bird Flu," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, January 13, 2004.
29. "Vietnam Says It Will Ask for Help to Identify Mystery Poultry Virus," Agence France-Presse, January 8, 2004. I use the term "current outbreak" here; however, given the lack of verifiable data, there remains the possibility that the incidence in mid-2003 continued on to become what is otherwise identified as the 2004 outbreak.
30. "Vietnam Appeals for UN Help over Bird Flu, Asia on Alert," Channel News Asia, January 13, 2004.
31. On the latter point, see, for example, Hoang Cuong, "Bird Flu under Control, Says Minister," Saigon Times Daily, February 26, 2004
32. Hoang Cuong, "Bird Flu Basically Contained," ibid., March 2, 2004
33. and "Agriculture: Vietnam Contains Returned Bird Flu," Vietnam News Briefs, October 6, 2004.
34. FAO Workshop on Social and Economic Impacts of Avian Influenza Control, December 2004, , p. 42, accessed May 2005.
35. "Agriculture Vietnam to Collaborate with China in Poultry Smuggling Control," Financial Times Information, April 11, 2006.
36. Comment in epigraph by Dr. Hans Wagner, FAO, as reported in Alexis Hooi, "Warning Goes Out: Fight Bird Flu Together; Health Experts Say Coordinated Approach Needed to Avert Pandemic," Straits Times, December 21, 2004.
37. "China, ASEAN Agree to Step Up Cooperation on Curbing Bird Flu Virus," Agence France-Presse, March 2, 2004.
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40. "Thailand Drafts Emergency Plan Warning Bird Flu Pandemic 'Imminent'," BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific - Political, January 25, 2005.
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42. For more on this point, see Ian Brown, "The Pig as an Intermediate Host for Influenza A Viruses between Birds and Humans," International Congress Series 1219 (2001), pp. 173-78.
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44. and E. C. J. Claas, Y. Kawaoka, J. C. de Jong, N. Masurel, and R. G. Webster, "Infection of Children with Avian-Human Reassortant Influenza Virus from Pigs in Europe," Virology 204:1 (October 1994), pp. 453-57.
45. Y. Guan et al., "Emergence of Avian H1N1 Influenza Viruses in Pigs in China." In terms of the transnational spread of infectious diseases, it is important to highlight that while these pigs were from mainland China, they were sampled in Hong Kong, demonstrating that it is not just birds that can carry diseases across borders.
46. Ben Rowse, "Vietnam Appeals for UN Help to Contain Worsening Bird Flu Epidemic," Agence France-Presse, January 13, 2004.
47. "Indonesia Detects Bird Flu in Pigs," Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, April 13, 2005. In another case, in mid-2004 a Chinese official declared that H5N1 had been detected in pigs in China but no followup was made to this announcement.
48. See Keith Bradsher, "Avian Flu Jumps to Pig Herds in China; Official Disclosure Raises Worry on Risk of Human Infection," International Herald Tribune, August 21, 2004.
49. Chris Brummitt, "Indonesia Finds Bird Flu in Pigs, Raising Fears It Could Easily Spread to Humans," Associated Press, May 14, 2005.
50. Another way this could happen is if the virus jumped from an infected person into a pig.
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52. See Jason Gale, "Asian Bird Flu Cases Not Being Reported Fast Enough, Donors say," Bloomberg, June 6, 2006.
53. Charles Piller, "Many Scientists Fear Bird Flu Cases Exceed Data; Minimal Reports from Laos and Cambodia and Unreliable Test Results Elsewhere Suggest that the Virus' Progress Has Been Underestimated," Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2005.
54. John-Pierre Verbeist and Charissa Castillo, Avian Flu: An Economic Assessment for Selected Developing Countries in Asia, ERD (Economics and Research Department) Policy Brief Series, no. 24 (Manila: ADB, March 2004), pp. 6-7.
55. Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian Red Crosses Promote Cooperation," Thai Press Reports, January 18, 2006.
56. USA APEC, "Progress Report: Pandemic Influenza Planning and Preparedness Situation Assessment," Second Health Task Force Meeting (Seoul), February 28, 2005.