ASIA: W.H.O. calls disease 'the new terrorism'
Updated
The World Health Organisation's annual report is out - and it's a sobering read for governments and health experts. The agency's report for 2007 says infectious diseases like birdflu can spread far more rapidly nowadays thanks to international travel. Its publication comes as Indonesia confirmed the deaths of two women from birdflu on the island of Bali this month. The two fatalities have resulted in the culling of thousands of poultry, and prompted fears of another downturn in the island's crucial tourism industry. The editor of the WHO's report , Thomson Prentice, says diseases like avian flu are as much of a threat to national and regional security as terrorism, and require the same internationally co-ordinated response.
Presenter: Corinne Podger
Speakers: Editor of the World Health Organisation's annual report for 2007, Thomson Prentice
