A highly contagious bird flu virus is racing through poultry farms in some parts of Asia, leading to the slaughter of millions of chickens and restrictions on shipments as governments attempt to stop the spread of the disease. 

Beneath its innocuous name, bird flu is believed to be more lethal than SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), which killed about 800 people worldwide last year.

The avian virus has unleashed a new health alert across East Asia, and spread of bird flu in the region could endanger the livelihood of thousands of farmers who rely on poultry production.

Worse, the birds are not the only victims. There are confirmed human cases of avian flu, which has turned out to be a regional emergency.

Sharing information and implementing measures to prevent the further spread of the virus is critical.

In today's interconnected global economy, the spread of bird flu could not only pose a challenge to medical science, but also trigger a major crisis in business confidence affecting the entire regional economy.

Cooperation and transparency are required to ensure efficient information sharing and formulation of appropriate strategies to address concerns and restore confidence.

Asian governments have been quick in trying to curb the virus. Last year's SARS outbreak offers a ready lesson on dealing with a new crisis. There is increased awareness of the need for good surveillance and urgent action.

The good news is the World Health Organization (WHO) recently confirmed the affliction is still entirely a bird flu, meaning it has so far not mutated into a virus that can jump from human to human.

However, the WHO's warning that bird flu could become a bigger problem for the region than SARS should push the affected countries and region to work out a solution to short circuit widespread damage.

So far, an initiative guiding the region's response to the spread of the virus is absent.

In this regard, what the concerned countries did with SARS last year should be a living lesson.

Sharing their experience with each other, the SARS-afflicted countries and region developed their own strategies to combat the disease.

For the bird flu, a transparent system of communication should be established, so that both the international and local communities are kept up-to-date on the latest developments.

Transparency could be the best tool to promote the health education aspect of "flu" prevention and self care, thus grossly minimizing a panic. China's mainland and Hong Kong have been exchanging daily reports. Some 100 million poultry were given flu shots.

It is hoped the mystery of avian flu will soon be unveiled with the combined efforts from countries in the region.

(China Daily January 19, 2004)