The cycle of bird flu infection that will occur in poultry this winter will not be stopped.
In a way we are not surprised, since we had expected a possible expansion of the disease through wildlife.
Birds play a role in the primary infection of the country, but then after that there's no need for wildlife. It will spread very easily from one village to another through trade.
Given that it is a highly contagious disease, we were sure it could spread from one region to another, either through wildlife or through trade and movements of products. So this happened and we are not surprised at all.
[In the wild, controlling the disease is even harder.] There is no possibility to stamp out outbreaks among wild birds, ... You don't want to kill wildlife and you can't kill 100 per cent anyway.
The countries concerned and the international community have to make every effort to ensure that bird flu does not become endemic in Africa.
Everything has to be done to find out exactly where the virus came from, since it would be a big surprise to find it in South America.
The countries urgently need international assistance to build up basic surveillance and control systems.
The priority to prevent the pandemic still stands on Asia, but besides that, if the virus is coming in Africa, yes, it's a very big worry for us.
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