As countries throughout the world are taking increasing measures to combat avian influenza, some South Korean scientists are arguing that the global leaders are too anxious about the disease, which is largely "exaggerated" by Western medical scientists.
Some pharmacologists in South Korea claim that all the threats of bird flu are "spurious" and that the world leaders' efforts to contain the virus are stemming from lobbies of international drug manufacturers, The Korea Times newspaper reported Tuesday.
"Avian flu has developed into a big issue because Western drug makers are blackmailing for their own profits," the newspaper quoted Rym Kyo-hwan, professor of Chungbuk National University's pharmaceutical college, as saying in a telephone interview.
He argued that bird flu occurs mostly at breeding farms where chickens and ducks have weak immune systems because they are always confined in a small space.
Rum also claimed that "there is no efficacy" in some medicine, which is recently showing skyrocketing sales volume due to rising concerns that the bird flu virus could also affect humans.
Despite such arguments, recent international gatherings often place the bird flu issue high on their agenda. The ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum here also paid particular attention to combating the disease.
APEC's Budget and Management Committee announced in Busan Monday that it had earmarked 2 million US dollars for a special fund, which will be used as "seed money" for the next three years, starting in 2006, to prevent the virus from damaging the global economy. Enditem
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