Taiwanese health official invited to observe bird-flu conference

        The head of the ROC Department of Health's Center for Disease Control, Kuo Hsu-sung, was invited to observe a global conference on avian influenza and human pandemic influenza in Geneva Nov. 7-9. More than 150 countries that are members of the World Health Organization (WHO) were to send delegates to attend the meeting, which is being jointly sponsored by the WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the World Bank.

        Another Taiwanese expert invited to the meeting is Ho Mei-hsiang, an associate researcher in epidemiology and virology from Academia Sinica, the country's top research institute.

        At a press conference held at the airport before departing for Switzerland, Kuo said the meeting would look at world efforts to combat the H5N1 bird flu virus. He added that Taiwan's attendance at the meeting would be noteworthy because it would be the first time that the country, currently not a WHO member, was invited to participate in a WHO event of such scale and significance.

        If given the chance, Kuo said he would like to share Taiwan's experience in setting up monitoring and early-warning systems to prevent the spread of avian influenza. He added that he hoped the island's experience could contribute to international endeavors against the deadly virus.

        The two representatives were also scheduled to visit the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche for talks regarding Taiwan's request for permission to produce Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug that has been effective in the treatment of bird flu.

        Although Taiwan was able to send representatives to attend the meeting this month, Taiwanese were denied attendance at a bird flu prevention meeting in Canada last month, due largely to Ottawa's acquiescence to Beijing's demands.

        Taiwan routinely encounters political obstacles to its participation in international activities and conferences. According to a report by the Central News Agency, the WHO Secretariat signed a "memorandum of understanding" with Beijing in May on how the WHO shall interact with Taiwan.

        However, a source familiar with the relationship between the WHO and Taiwan was quoted as saying in the same report that the interactions between the two sides have shown signs of improvement ever since the island adopted the policy of emphasizing professionalism.

        Taiwanese medical experts have been invited to attend various WHO activities and conferences since the organization's highest decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, held its 58th annual meeting in May, according to the source, who cited this as an indication of the maturing of interactions between Taiwan and the WHO.

        The director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Geneva, Shen Lyu-shun, stated that Taiwan's aim in attending the WHO conference is to join efforts to fight avian flu. He stressed that the island does not want to touch on any kind of political issue at the gathering.

        According to a WHO press release, the global meeting would bring together more than 400 health experts, senior policymakers, economists and industry representatives in an attempt to reach a global consensus on how to control the disease in fowl while preparing for a potential human pandemic.

        A number of important topics on the agenda include containing the H5N1 virus in birds, strengthening disease surveillance systems worldwide and intensifying animal-control efforts and pandemic preparedness issues.