A conference deliberated several scenarios of facing off the Avian Flu virus if it mutates into a human-to-human strain. Reem Leila attended The World Health Organisation (WHO) held the second Global Pandemic Influenza Communication conference on Tuesday, to discuss the crucial issue of how authorities will communicate with the public during a time of health crisis -- when resources are scarce and anxiety is aplenty. WHO is also concerned that in case the bird flu virus transmutes into a human-to-human form in Egypt, the production and delivery of antidotes will take too long and supplies will be limited. Attending the conference were Minister of Health and Population Hatem El-Gabali, WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region Director Hussein Gezairi, Executive Director of the Ministry of Health and Population's Central Unit for Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Abdel-Nasser Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar and senior adviser to the assistant director- general of communicable diseases Paul Gully, along with other WHO experts. Specialists agree that since Avian Flu has hit the world hard and already 10 countries in the Middle East have been affected, there is a dire need to build the tools which will help all parties to communicate more effectively. According to Gezairi, "it will be impossible for any country suffering of pandemic outbreak to do the job looming before us alone. All strengths and experiences must be combined to face the challenges of a pandemic." In today's integrated global economy, a pandemic would cause tremendous social and economic turmoil and upheaval, putting enormous pressure on healthcare systems. According to El-Gabali, modelling studies -- despite their limitations -- have indicated that some national health systems may not be able to cope with the demand on antidotes, resulting in extremely high rates of mortality. This was the case in Egypt when H5N1 mutated into 294S last month, a strain resistant to the Tamiflu antidote resulting in certain death for victims. Although health officials are confronted with a real challenge that has profound health and economic implications, "Egypt has set the standard for transparency," asserted El-Gabali. "More research is still needed and Tamiflu is still used as the drug of choice, along with other anti-virals such as Adamine," he added. Experience has shown that the foundation of outbreak communication is trust, and this is better assured when key public health authorities rely on consistent, well- coordinated messages in a rapid and transparent manner. Gezairi believes that coordinating among different parties -- whether at the national level, such as among ministries of health, agriculture, information, interior and the army -- or among UN partners, "will be a major challenge". Increasing people's awareness and educating them about the dangers of negligence while dealing with the H5N1 virus requires much work, and messages need to be constantly aired to keep the public informed without creating panic. In Egypt, "television plays a major part in people's lives, far more so than the Internet, in educating the public," explained Gezairi. A regional campaign is essential to raise public awareness about safety measures to prevent the spread of bird flu, he suggested. His office, in collaboration with UNICEF and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), produced an animated film along with 12 generic poster messages for the region. Special attention was given to Egypt due to the gravity of bird flu infections, especially that in Egypt, Djibouti and Iraq the disease has affected humans as well as poultry. WHO is also working closely with the Ministry of Health and Population and the John Hopkins University Communication Centre. A recent survey showed that following media campaigns in Egypt, 86 per cent of respondents could recall messages from television broadcasts; nine per cent recalled seeing printed campaign materials and only three per cent actually participated in community meetings or seminars about Avian Flu. Gully argued that the mutation of the H5N1 virus into a human-to-human strain is very possible, and the when, why and how are unpredictable. Accordingly, networks between all concerned national and international authorities must be created, and some communicators working in public health agencies should be trained in outbreak communication. At the same time, Gully recommended that studies be undertaken to quantify the health and economic consequences of effective and ineffective outbreak communication. Funding for this can come from several sources, including the World Bank, regional development banks and WHO itself. "Also, national public health authorities and international partners can be mobilised to advocate for outbreak communication needs," suggested Gully.
