Avian influenza, a transborder animal disease that emerged in Asia in 2003 before spreading to Europe (2005) and then to Africa (2006) via migratory birds and/or through uncontrolled trade, has thus far remained a disease of animals, but could at any time acquire the characteristics of a highly contagious and pathogenic disease of humans (i.e., a pandemic) as a result of various genetic mutations of the influenza virus. It is not possible to predict when, if, and where this will occur, or what the social and economic impacts might be, but experience with past influenza pandemics suggests that the consequences could be devastating. Apart from the already severe impact (in terms of income, food security, impoverishment, etc.) caused by the various causes of poultry mortality—i.e., whether through disease or deliberate culling—the human toll could be enormous.
Prevention of such a pandemic requires, above all, prevention and control of avian influenza, and the obvious connection between animal health and human health has for the first time resulted in a joint mobilization of the international technical organizations (e.g., OIE, FAO and WHO) and, in an unprecedented development for an animal disease, that of donors.
These pages present the current status of international mobilization and of AHI prevention and control initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa, and are a means of sharing joint resources and tools.
For additional information:
-on the role of ALive in collaboration on avian and human influenza in
Africa, see Theme 1.
-on products developed by ALive in connection with efforts to prevent and control avian and human influenza, see Products.
