“World readiness for an influenza pandemic has improved after an ‘extraordinary global response’ to the bird flu threat of recent years, the top UN official dealing with the disease said on Tuesday. But David Nabarro, the world body's influenza coordinator, said the risk of a pandemic remained, should the bird flu virus mutate into a form that is easily transmitted between humans. …

He said the UN was most concerned about Indonesia, which has the most human cases, but also about Vietnam, Bangladesh and Egypt…He cited South Korea and Britain as examples of countries that responded vigorously to recent bird flu outbreaks. A total of some $2.7 billion was pledged to fight the disease at a series of international conferences. The world was also much better prepared than it was in 2005 to cope with a possible pandemic, with about 160 nations having plans in place, Nabarro said. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

Xinhua adds that “… He said governments had invested massively in improving conditions in which poultry are reared and had increased their focus on the link between animal and human diseases. …According to Nabarro, the spread of avian influenza reached 55 countries during 2006 and went into some 60 countries by the end of 2007.” [Xinhua/Factiva]

AP notes that “…He also cited as a factor French drug company Sanofi Pasteur's pledge this week to donate over three years 60 million vaccines against the hard-to-treat H5N1 flu strain. That comes on top of British drug company GlaxoSmithKline's pledge last year to donate 50 million doses of H5N1 vaccine to help the World Health Organization set up a global stockpile. …

Most people killed so far have been infected by domestic fowl, and the virus remains difficult for humans to catch. About half the people infected die. Experts fear, though, that it could mutate into a form that easily spreads among humans, sparking a pandemic that some have estimated could kill anywhere from 5 million to 150 million. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]