Asia Must Share Bird Flu Virus, Vaccine: Australia

This article details some of the issues discussed at the June 2007 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers’ conference in Sydney Australia. According to Tony Abbott, Australia’s Health Minister, Asia-Pacific nations must work toward an affective regional and global response to combat avian influenza. Abbott identified the creation of a pre-pandemic vaccine as the biggest problem facing the Asia-Pacific region, and touted the importance of the sharing of virus samples in helping to fight avian flu. According to the article, sharing samples can help to identify whether viruses have become drug resistant, whether they have mutated, or grown more transmissible. Shared samples are also used to develop commercial bird flu vaccines.