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| AI Project Highlights |
Cross-border Progress in Mekong
A consortium of four international nongovernment organizations is working on cross-border activities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam, including a toolkit for NGOs serving cross-border communities. Lessons learned were presented at a workshop in March 2008 in Bangkok.
Read more about ADB bird flu projects
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| Bird Flu Toll |
Deaths: 246*
Cases: 389*
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Avian Influenza
Updated: 25 May 2009
Avian influenza (AI), also known as bird flu, is an infectious disease of birds that sometimes also affects humans.
Mutations or reassortment of the bird flu virus into new strains occur regularly and may cause avian flu outbreaks among birds, sometimes severe, that may also affect and kill humans sometimes. Read more updates on the crisis.
Experts are particularly concerned with the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, which has been responsible for many outbreaks spreading across Asia, Europe and Africa since 2005 and has killed at least 246 persons (as of 9 December 2008).
While nobody knows if the present H5N1 avian influenza virus, highly pathogenic for birds, will eventually transform into a strain that easily spreads among humans and causes a new global influenza pandemic, the risk of an global pandemic remains present.
The region is home to two thirds of the world's poor - with overcrowded cities, remote rural populations, and often inadequate services and infrastructure.
Despite significant progress since 2003 when the first H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks were identified (following a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong, China), the region remains ill-equipped to counter the spread of a highly pathogenic strain of the flu virus, which may cause a global flu pandemic.
In response to the crisis, ADB is working closely with its partners — particularly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations , UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Health Organization — on activities to prevent and control the spread of avian flu in the region.
Since January 2006, ADB has committed $69.2 million of grant resources for avian influenza and infectious diseases. More than $30 million has been disbursed. Read more on ADB's assistance on bird flu.
Read Key Facts on avian influenza.
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