Facing threat of bird flu, Taiwan wants in at WHO

Taiwanese Health Minister Dr. Sheng-Mou Hou last week spoke to reporter Seth Rosen of The Washington Times about the threat of an avian-flu outbreak in Asia and the consequences of Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization (WHO):

Question: The WHO has warned of the possibility of a worldwide flu pandemic as avian flu appears in new locations in Southeast Asia and Siberia. How grave is the threat of the disease spreading?

Answer: Avian flu is really a threat to Taiwan, the United States and the rest of the world. The question is not if it attacks, but when it attacks. It mutates so quickly that I believe that in the coming months it will be a human disease and pass from human to human — and that’s a big problem. The people of the world have no immunity to that kind of virus. In my belief, avian flu will come and it’s best to prepare for it.

Q: Though the deadlier H5N1 strain of avian flu has not been found in Taiwan, two milder forms of the virus have. What steps is Taiwan taking to protect itself against an outbreak?

A: We have a four-strategy approach: The first is to fight the disease outside our borders. We have donated 600,000 Tamiflu tablets [a drug used for prevention and early treatment of bird flu] to Vietnam. Second, we are detecting the disease on the border by checking every visitor’s temperature if they come from abroad and monitor them.

Third, is getting our community ready. We had experience with SARS and stocked up on so much equipment then. Last, we are making sure our medical services are well-prepared, that we have the capability to produce vaccine and prepare Tamiflu for 10 percent of the population. We are also talking to government officials and educating the public about prevention measures.

Q: What role does Taiwan play in the global fight against avian flu and does there need to be increased international cooperation on this issue?

A: Taiwan has a very unique geographical position. We are close to the danger zone. Our health officials are well-equipped and highly knowledgeable. We can play an important role for global health by being a sentinel guard against avian flu.

I call upon all the countries in the world to create a network to fight this possible epidemic disease. I would like to have an avian-flu summit meeting every two months so all nations can share information and surveillance. The WHO has done something with this, but unfortunately, Taiwan is not a member.

Q: Amid strong opposition from mainland China, the WHO’s World Health Assembly avoided voting on Taiwan’s application for observer status as a “health entity” during its annual meeting this past May. This is the ninth consecutive year that WHO has turned away your nation.

A: We’re disappointed that the WHO did not admit Taiwan, but we will keep on trying. How can you leave a very important country out of the network? How can they say you’re Taiwanese so you have no rights for you to try to promote your health?

But things are going better and better. In the past, our experts could not attend any kind of WHO meetings. For a tsunami meeting in April, the WHO accepted our experts and registered them. Unfortunately, they were refused entry at the door due to someone’s protesting and that’s not fair.

Q: What are the consequences of Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO and does this endanger the health of the Taiwanese people?

A: Diseases have no boundaries and birds can fly anywhere they like. Health is a basic human right. To keep Taiwan out of the WHO umbrella is not only unfair to Taiwanese people, but also dangerous to others around the world. There are 6 million flights a year from Taiwan to neighboring countries. Traffic from Hong Kong to Taiwan is very heavy. [30,000 people a day according to a Health Ministry official.] Infected people could come from Vietnam to Taiwan, disseminate the disease, and then go on to the U.S.

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