Global rules to stop spread of deadly diseases win support

The Government yesterday welcomed new rules adopted by the World Health Organisation, including possible travel and trade restrictions, to help prevent diseases such as bird flu or Sars crossing borders.

The regulations, adopted by the United Nations agency's 192 member states after two years of negotiations, oblige countries to tighten disease detection and lay down guidelines for international measures to be taken.

Health Minister Annette King said there had been major changes since the regulations had been set in 1969.

"Major changes in travel and trade across borders, as well as developments in communication technology, have taken place in the past 35 years," Ms King said.

"This has given rise to new health challenges that make the existing regulations well out of date."

In future, the World Health Organisation must be quickly informed of any outbreak of four diseases: two new threats identified in Asia - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), and bird flu - as well as smallpox and polio.

But any "potential international public health concern", including outbreaks from unknown sources, and potentially deadly sicknesses such as cholera and yellow fever, must also be reported.

Ms King said bird flu and Sars reinforced the need for co-ordinated international action and co-operation.

"To be effective, public health action needs to be applied widely, consistently and in a timely manner," she said.

The regulations greatly extend the scope of the previous guidelines, some 35 years old, which required countries to report three diseases - cholera, plague and yellow fever - to the UN agency, but demanded little else.

Ms King also said the new procedures would better protect New Zealand against excessive international reactions to localised events that were unlikely to spread.

- NZPA