Materia Medica Malaysiana

HEALTH MINISTERS WARN ON NEW DISEASES

Warning that new diseases are likely to surface across the region, Asian health ministers on Thursday pledged to boost research, create new facilities and share expertise to counter potential epidemics.

In the wake of deadly SARS and bird flu outbreaks in Asia, ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations hope to establish an international network to help countries detect emerging +health+ threats faster and contain outbreaks during this two-day meeting on the northwest Malaysian resort island of Penang.

Singaporean +Health+ Minister Khaw Boon Wan said governments are now expected to respond quickly and transparently after back-to-back outbreaks of SARS and bird flu proved how easily public +health+ emergencies can spread.

"There are bound to be new viruses," Khaw told reporters. "But we don't know what they would be or when they would strike. Nature has a way of surprising us, so there's nothing like a speedy response to these viruses."

Indonesian Public +Health+ Minister Achmad Sujudi said the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome caused economic losses of more than US$10 billion in Asia, while the financial impact of avian flu could be "easily as much."

Philippine Undersecretary of +Health+ Milagros Fernandez said Asian governments plan to increase research on communicable diseases and establish a panel of experts to assess each country's ability to monitor new outbreaks.

"If a nation is found to be lacking in expertise or equipment, then technical assistance and the exchange of experts will be provided by the World +Health+ Organization and other countries in the region," Fernandez said.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Senior +health+ officials from China, Japan and South Korea are scheduled to join the talks Friday.

Many Asian countries increased their disease surveillance systems last year when severe acute respiratory syndrome sickened at least 8,000 people worldwide before subsiding in June. The disease killed 774 people, mostly in Asia.

Earlier this year, bird flu swept through Asia, killing or leading to the slaughter of about 100 million birds. At least 24 people died of the virus in Vietnam and Thailand before it tapered off.

But Khaw said Asian countries are now better prepared to handle such outbreaks.

"With SARS, we had to improvise in our joint cooperation," Khaw said. "Now that the SARS crisis is over, it's a good time to consolidate and institutionalize the various cooperation plans."

Malaysian +Health+ Minister Chua Soi Lek said the ministers would also discuss how to integrate Asia's medicinal plants and traditional remedies into +health+-care systems, bolstering the variety of treatments available for patients.