| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
BANGKOK: The influenza A (H1N1) outbreak appears to be under control. But ASEAN health officials are not taking anything for granted. They are gathered in Bangkok to discuss how the region can coordinate its handling of such a crisis.
So far there has been no widespread outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus in Asia, and authorities are determined to keep it that way.
Public health ministers and top officials from the 10 ASEAN countries, as well as authorities from China, South Korea and Japan, discussed updates on the disease during the meeting.
They also received inputs from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the World Health Organization.
The meeting will conclude on Friday.
Dr Eric Tayag, chairman of ASEAN Plus 3 Senior Health Officials Meeting on Influenza A, said: "We hope to generate consensus and political commitment focusing on policies necessary to address this serious situation. This is the time to show our solidarity and our resolve to address the imminent pandemic that we face today."
Thai authorities also stressed that individuals concerned about the virus should practise good hygiene.
Dr Somsak Akksilp, deputy director general of Department of Disease Control, Thailand's Ministry of Public Health, said: "Firstly, I would suggest that he or she should keep his or her health status as good as he can. Secondly, personal hygiene, also social hygiene, for example, you should wash your hands as much as you can."
Security for the meeting was tight, with hundreds of army soldiers and police on guard. The Thai government wants to prevent the gathering from being disrupted by red-shirt anti-government protesters.
Demonstrators had swarmed an ASEAN meeting last month in Pattaya, breaking through a security cordon and forcing the gathering to be cancelled. This time, authorities blocked off surrounding roads and hundreds of troops stood guard.
Inside the hotel, though, domestic politics took a back seat to public health. Officials emphasized cooperation, common ground and a unified approach to combatting H1N1.
- CNA/ir
|
