UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urged heightened preparedness and surveillance amid signs that a mutant strain of the deadly bird flu virus is spreading in Asia and beyond. While the H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus was eliminated from most of the 63 countries infected at its peak in 2006, it remained endemic in six nations. Outbreaks have risen since then, with almost 800 cases recorded between 2010 and 2011, FAO said in a news release. (From FAO & UN News Sources) “Contagion” – Hollywood Fiction Becoming Reality? Ironically, the warning and apparently heightened risk come just as Hollywood prepares to release a new film, “Contagion” based upon an epidemic that infects billions. (Above PHOTO – Steven Soderbergh film envisioned with multi-star cast including Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fisburne). That fictional epidemic also has a mutant bird disease as its source reportedly. New Areas of Infection: The agency’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Juan Lubroth, said that migrations have helped the virus travel over long distances and expand geographically. In the past two years, the H5N1 virus has shown up in poultry or wild birds in countries that had been virus-free for several years. Areas recently affected by the virus are found in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Bulgaria, Romania, Nepal and Mongolia. New Mutant Virus “Bypass” Current Protection – China & Vietnam: Mr. Lubroth said another cause for concern is the appearance in China and Viet Nam of a variant virus that is able to bypass the defences provided by existing vaccines. Most of the northern and central parts of Viet Nam, where H5N1 is endemic, have been invaded by the new virus strain, known as H5N1 – 2.3.2.1. The country had suspended its springtime poultry vaccination campaign this year. Threat to Koreas, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand & Cambodia: Viet Nam’s veterinary services are on high alert and reportedly considering a targeted vaccination campaign this fall. FAO noted that virus circulation in Viet Nam poses a direct threat to Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia as well as endangering the Korean peninsula and Japan. Wild bird migration can also spread the virus to other continents. Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Viet Nam, where the virus is still firmly entrenched, are likely to face the biggest problems but all countries need to be vigilant, said Mr. Lubroth. “Preparedness and surveillance remain essential,” he stressed. “This is no time for complacency. No one can let their guard down with H5N1.” Since 2003 the H5N1 virus has killed or forced the culling of more than 400 million domestic poultry and caused an estimated $20 billion of economic damage across the globe before it was eliminated from most of the 63 infected countries. It has infected 565 people since it first appeared, killing 331 of them, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). The latest death occurred earlier this month in Cambodia, which has registered eight cases of human infection this year – all of them fatal. By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook – Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter - Follow us at DiplomaticallyX More Reports at Humanitarian Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/humanitarian#