The Fight Against Bird Flu

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Chickens try to escape from Turkish Agriculture Ministry employees collecting poultry, in the small Turkish village of Uzunyazi. (Photo: Pier Paolo Cito/AP Wide World)

January 20, 2006

Countries worldwide are getting together to fight the spread of bird flu. More than 33 countries and institutions pledged this week to contribute $1.9 billion to fight what has become a dangerous virus, the avian, or bird, flu.

The donations came after a two-day world conference held this week in China. The conference was held to discuss how best to fight the deadly flu, which is found mostly in birds. Migratory birds, or birds that fly from one region to another, are responsible for spreading the virus to chickens, turkeys, and other birds.

Scientists are worried that the flu, which can transfer from bird to human, may one day be able to transfer from human to human. At least 20 people in Turkey have died from the disease. World leaders decided it was time to investigate how to avoid a pandemic, or worldwide outbreak, of bird flu.

"If the world has a better ability to respond, I think that's a good thing," said Jim Adams, head of the World Bank's bird flu task force.

The World Bank estimated that $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion would be needed over the next three years to defend against a potential global spread of the virus.

The United States donated the most to the fund, pledging $334 million. The European Union pledged almost $250 million as well. About $1 billion of the money came in the form of grants, while the other $900 million will be given as loans, including $500 million from the World Bank.

Most of the money will be used to help poor countries in Southeast Asia, where the virus is more common. The money will be used to find ways to better contain the sick birds. It will also be used to develop poultry vaccination programs.

"What we've seen today is that the world really does care and wants to respond effectively to the threat of avian influenza and a possible human pandemic," said David Nabarro, the UN coordinator on avian and human influenza. Nabarro described the world's response as "quite extraodinary."

Tiffany Chaparro is a contributing writer for Scholastic News Online.

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