June 11 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization is poised to declare a pandemic with the new H1N1 influenza virus spreading widely in Australia -- far from the Americas, where it was first diagnosed in people.
But WHO officials have stressed that such a move reflects the geographic spread of the disease, and not its severity.
Below are details on what Asia is doing to combat and ward off the virus, which appears a lot milder than the H5N1 bird flu and SARS which have hit the region in recent years:
(For more stories on flu outbreak click on [nFLU]) ----------------------------------------------------------
Current totals of new flu strain cases in Asia:
COUNTRY DEATHS CONFIRMED CASES
AUSTRALIA 0 1,263
JAPAN 0 410
CHINA 0 111
PHILIPPINES 0 92
HONG KONG 0 60
TAIWAN 0 36
NEW ZEALAND 0 27
VIETNAM 0 20
INDIA 0 11
SOUTH KOREA 0 4
THAILAND 0 46
MALAYSIA 0 2 -----------------------------------------------------------
AFGHANISTAN
- A medical centre has been set up at Kabul airport for possible cases, but the country cannot afford screening equipment and is relying on other countries to scan outbound passengers.
- The WHO has donated $500,000 worth of Tamiflu, which will cover 30,360 people.
AUSTRALIA
- Stockpiled 8.7 million doses of antivirals Tamiflu and Relenza, enough to cover 41 percent of its 21 million population.
BANGLADESH
- Screening incoming passengers at all airports, seaports and border transit points since the outbreak of the virus.
- Health ministry officials say the country has sufficient supplies of oseltamivir, or Tamiflu, which is produced locally.
- Local drug companies have been told to prepare to increase their production of oseltamivir in case of an emergency.
BRUNEI
- Temporary bans have been issued on importing pork from countries with high numbers of flu cases.
CAMBODIA
- Screening incoming visitors at main airports in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, home of the Angkor temples, the country's biggest tourist destination.
- Maintains a stockpile of 15,750 packets of Tamiflu.
CHINA
- Aims to stockpile enough antivirals for one percent of its 1.3 billion citizens.
- Stepped up personal hygiene campaigns, checks at airports, including requiring visitors to fill out health status declarations.
HONG KONG
- Shuts all elementary schools from Friday for 14 days after confirming the first local cluster of cases.
- Government will innoculate for free 2 million people against the H1N1 when these vaccines are available.
- Authorities have 20 million doses of Tamiflu and other antiviral drugs to treat 2 million people in a city of 7 million.
INDIA
- The number of laboratories testing for the virus will be raised from two to 18 and passenger screening will be tightened at India's international airports.
- Raising Tamiflu stocks to 10 million from 3 million.
- Plans to develop an H1N1 flu vaccine but has yet to decide which local drug manufacturers will produce it.
- Health ministry has stockpiled millions of face masks.
INDONESIA
- Temperature scanners installed at 10 airports and ports. Blanket ban on pig imports.
- At least 3 million Tamiflu capsules in stock for a population of 226 million.
JAPAN
- Stockpiles of Tamiflu enough for 33.8 million people, in a country of 128 million. Government has ordered for another 8.3 million citizens. Central government has enough Relenza for 2.68 million people, while local governments are either holding or have bought additional Relenza for another 1.33 million.
- No plans to increase stockpiles of antibiotics, but the country is working to produce new H1N1 vaccines.
- Apart from renewed calls for personal hygiene, about 4,500 schools in western Japan are closed until May 22.
MALAYSIA
- Boosting Tamiflu stockpile to cover 10 percent of its 27 million population from 7.5 percent.
NEW ZEALAND
- New Zealand government has given health authorities the power to impose quarantines on flu sufferers.
- National stockpile of anti-viral drugs has been increased around 10 percent to nearly 1.4 million doses, which will cover nearly a-third of the 4.3 million population.
- All flights from North America, regarded as the region of greatest risk, are being closely monitored.
PHILIPPINES
- The Philippines has a national stockpile of 1.17 million Tamiflu and the government has ordered an additional 200,000 pieces of the antiviral tablet for its population of 91 million.
- Stepped up surveillance of incoming passengers; Filipinos returning from abroad are told to monitor their health for 10 days and seek medical help if they show influenza-like symptoms.
SOUTH KOREA
- Tamiflu stockpile covers 2.5 million people. Has signed deals to secure an additional 2.7 million doses of Tamiflu and Relenza, which would increase its total stockpile to cover 10 percent of its population of about 49 million people.
TAIWAN
- Stockpiles of Tamiflu and Relenza are enough to cover 10 percent of population of 23 million.
- No orders to produce vaccines, though the government has talked to pharmaceuticals about the possibility.
THAILAND
- Maintains a stockpile of 3.2 million doses of Tamiflu and has materials to produce another 1 million tablets. It has a population of 65 million.
- Screens and keeps database of visitors from abroad.
VIETNAM
- Vietnam has advised people and tourists coming from infected zones who have fever or sore throat to delay their flights.
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest city of more than 8 million people, has stocks of Tamiflu enough for 1 million.
ASEAN
- Health ministers from ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea have pledged to boost drug stockpiles, share essential supplies and tighten surveillance against the virus.
- Has 500,000 courses of antivirals stockpiled in Singapore and another 500,000 distributed among ASEAN member states. (Reporting by Asian bureaux; Editing by Sugita Katyal)
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