Health experts are concerned disjointed bird flu planning and uncertainty over what vaccines can actually do is making the risk of global pandemic greater.
"People are trying to do the right thing, but nobody knows what the right thing is," said Laurie Garrett, who runs the Global Health Program at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "Every country feels like they have to do something, and so they order a quick technological fix."
A flurry of international concerns intensified in the past week as the avian flu was detected continental Europe, although testing to confirm the H5N1 virus is not yet complete.
While countries earmark billions for drugs, their effectiveness has not been tested, the New York Times reported. Vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur has acknowledged it's unclear whether a vaccine now in production would have any effect against an emergent pandemic strain.
"Preparedness is not just about stockpiling, it's about having an actual plan," said Dr. Mike Ryan, the newly appointed director of influenza surveillance and response at the World Health Organization in Geneva.
Bird flu has infected 120 humans in Asia, half of whom have died.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
