Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-25-Speech-2-062"
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"en.20051025.4.2-062"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let me start with warm thanks to the Commissioner for the clarity of his statement, from which it would appear that the EU and its Member States are relatively well prepared. Your statement is a calm and matter-of-fact one, and, in that you focus on the protection of poultry generally and not just on the possibility of a pandemic, that will help us all to make progress.
I myself worked for 15 years as a veterinarian, specialising in the poultry industry, with the Organisation of Animal Health, and could well have something to say about a lot of things, not least the vaccination of poultry. Not having enough time available to me, though, I do not propose to do so.
On Monday, a number of Members of this House visited the Food and Veterinary Office in Dublin. It has to be said that its 160 experts, who are active around the world, are doing an excellent job of advising you and the Member States. There is, admittedly, as yet insufficient provision for worldwide cooperation, but the first steps are rightly being taken in that direction; there is a conference being held in Canada today, and the WHO has met in South-East Asia. Much more needs to be done to address this problem at the point where it starts and takes root.
Secondly, Mr Bowis and others have already pointed out that a system of inoculation will not be enough to contain the pandemic that threatens us. Reference has also been made to the Spanish flu of 1918, which cost 50 million people their lives. What that means is that there is an urgent need for a change of approach where the production of vaccines is concerned, and it also goes without saying that we can work much more quickly with cell cultures such as MPS.
Thirdly, what about anti-flu vaccines – who is to order them, who is to store them, who is to pay for them? As these medicines keep for five years, there certainly needs to be a plan drawn up.
My fourth point is that no reference has been made in this debate to Africa. What will happen when migratory birds reach Africa? The people in Africa, like those in South-East Asia, live cheek by jowl with their birds, and they are at risk of infection. Who has responsibility for this? I am quite sure that we share it.
Fifthly, I would like to thank those conservationists, ornithologists and hunters, along with all non-governmental organisations, who have assumed a heavy responsibility for monitoring migratory birds and have passed on their knowledge.
The ultimate question is not whether a pandemic is on the way, but when. That is what should be the focus of our attention."@en1
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