Bush visit to Southeast Asia

Vietnam, hailed for beating back bird flu and rallying against AIDS, is getting a chance to impress US President George W. Bush by showing just how much it has done, AP reported Thursday.

Bush is expected to visit the Pasteur Institute – one of the country's top research institutes for communicable diseases – in Ho Chi Minh City after attending the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the capital, Hanoi.

It is his first trip to Vietnam.

The Southeast Asias country has been deemed a bright spot in the fight against bird flu as the virulent H5N1 virus continues to plague the region.

Indonesia on Tuesday announced its second human death this week from the disease, which is likely to worsen during the approaching cooler months. Bush is to visit Jakarta after leaving Vietnam.

Vietnam has logged 42 human deaths, second only to Indonesia's 57, but has not detected any poultry outbreaks this year and no human infections since November 2005. The success is largely credited to a nationwide poultry vaccination campaign and strong political will to root out the virus.

Bird flu has killed at least 153 people worldwide since it began ravaging Asian poultry in late 2003. So far, the disease remains hard for people to catch, and most human cases have been traced to contact with infected birds, but experts fear it will mutate into a form that is easily spread among people.

"It's important that public health issues, including avian influenza and other similar pandemic threats, are on the APEC agenda, and it's a positive sign that these issues are being discussed at the highest level," said Hans Troedsson, World Health Organization representative in Vietnam. "I hope that the APEC meeting will translate into more commitment and collaboration among nations."

While touring the lab, Bush also is to learn about Vietnam's fight against AIDS. Vietnam has stepped up prevention efforts and worked to raise awareness since Bush selected it as one of the 15 countries to receive US emergency HIV/AIDS funding in June 2004.

The US government has contributed nearly US$80 million since then to fight the disease in Vietnam.

"President Bush drawing attention to the two diseases together I think is very positive," said Nancy Fee, UNAIDS country coordinator.

"It's very good that even within discussions about economic development he's highlighting these diseases, which could have a major economic impact on Vietnam if they're not handled well."

About 5,500 people, or 15 percent of those in need of anti-retroviral drugs in Vietnam, are now receiving them, compared with less than 5 percent two years ago, she said.

Experts say Vietnam is at a critical point as the number of HIV infections reaches an estimated 260,000 people. So far, most cases have been among vulnerable groups such as sex workers and injecting drug users, but the disease could soon become more generalized.

The Pasteur Institute and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi are the country's top two research institutes for communicable diseases.

Source: AP