FAO Address

摘要

The importance of this scientific conference cannot be overstated. The world's scientific leaders in all aspects related to avian influenza assembled in this room are expected to provide the most up-to-date and effective guidance on how best to handlethis very serious threat to animals, human livelihoods and public health. The conclusions and resolutions of this Conference will be instrumental in clarifying all important open questions to be answered when the OIE General Assembly will have to agreenext month on the "rules of the game", if I may use this expression. Avian influenza has had an enormous economic and social impact on affected countries and the risk of this animal disease situation evolving into a global human influenza pandemic is ofgreat public concern. CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, the Asian investment banking arm of Credit Agricole of France, estimated in a report released on Monday this week that the disease has already cost Asian nations US$8 to 12 billion. Increasingly, corporateanalysts rank highly pathogenic avian influenza as one of the major risks, along with a banking crisis, civil unrest and armed conflict, that could derail the Asian region's current economic expansion.