Sri Lanka On Alert for Avian Flu

Sri Lanka On Alert for Avian Flu
Chelsea Thompson 11/2/2008 9:27 am

Sri Lanka is taking several steps in preventing the spread of Avian Flu. They now have people sending in reports of outbreaks of the virus from neighboring countries to better keep themselves aware of the problem. They also have specific teams of people monitoring popular areas for bird migration. As of yet, Sri Lanka has had no reported cases of the Virus is both human and birds, but are taking no risks. They are a country at high risk for contracting the virus because they are in close proximity to neighboring countries that have already had outbreaks. There are already special trained doctors and vaccines availible to the public to fend off the virus if necessary. Doctors believe that Sri Lanka is very well aquipped to deal with the Avian Flu if it appears. Visiting birds in the country are under close surveillance to ensure that they do not have, and are not capeable of spreading the virus. All of the laboratory equipment is to be upgraded to better understand the samples that are being recieved from the teams that are studying the migratory birds in Sri Lanka. The WHO (World Health Organization) is very concerned about the North and East sections of Sri Lanka contracting the Avian Flu. "A United Nation report has said that despite widespread awareness of the risks of the next flu pandemic, the world needs to drastically improve co-operation in preparing for what would be a major global crisis. The report said that even a mild flu pandemic might kill 1.4 million people worldwide, while the death toll from a severe outbreak could reach 70 million." (http://www.island.lk/2008/11/02/leisure7.html)

I think that the awareness of this virus is excellent. People need to be aware of something before they can fight it off. I think that if more countries put in such an effort to keep their population aware of the dangers of any pandemic, the chances of people contracting a virus would go down because people would be more aware of vaccines and other precautionary procedures that that could have.

http://www.island.lk/2008/11/02/leisure7.html