March 26, 2008
BANGKOK - The Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) designed to help Asian nations react rapidly to battle outbreaks of potentially deadly bird flu was launched yesterday.
US ambassador to Thailand Eric John presided over the opening ceremony for the RDC which is located in Chachoengsao province.
"The RDC will help ensure that countries in Asia will be able to take fast action to counter avian influenza without endangering the lives of rapid-response teams," John said.
Funded by the US government's aid arm USAID, the center will initially stockpile 45,000 protective suits, 400 decontamination kits, 10 laboratory specimen kits and other equipment worth a total of 548,300 dollars, according to AFP.
"This centre will help ensure that avian influenza outbreaks can be contained safely and efficiently," he added.
John MacArthur, infectious diseases advisor with USAID, warned that bird flu remained a serious threat in the region around the Mekong river, and said the kits could be shipped to outbreaks within 24 hours.
A fresh bird flu outbreak near its northwest border with Myanmar and China was reported early this month in Laos.
Vietnam has so far reported five bird flu deaths this year.
The World Health Organisation has confirmed that 236 people have died worldwide from bird flu since 2003.
The H5N1 avian influenza virus mainly kills animals but scientists fear it could mutate to easily jump from human to human, sparking a global pandemic.
