For centuries,  man has battled  with a menagerie of   animal and human diseases. Today, we are faced with yet another ominous  reality of a disaster waiting to happen which, health scientists predict, may literally wipe out a huge segment of the human population – Avian Influenza or Bird Flu. As of  2 February 2009 and based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Report, there have been   404 confirmed human cases and 254 reported deaths due to Avian Influenza (AI) around the world since 2003. Out of these, 284 cases and 193 deaths were found in Southeast Asia, making   the region a major  “hotspot” for AI infections and fatalities,  and therefore a reason for global health concern.

Throughout history, there had been several global epidemics caused by diseases which have “jumped”  from animals to those of humans. Not so long ago, using science and technology,  we were able to control such widespread epidemics with the invention of  vaccines. In this age of  age of information  and communications technology, we again use the  tools of science to combat yet another   pandemic waiting to happen. To successfully combat Avian Influenza (AI) is like fighting fire. It is necessary to catch or detect them early on, and then try to “nip them in the bud “by timely and swift response. For this to occur, having a robust surveillance system founded on ICT,  with adequate capacity to effectively monitor and analyze the situation, both in the poultry as well as human sectors, in as close to real time as possible and covering a sufficiently extensive area, is essential.  

As such, after almost three years of careful planning and preparation, the project dubbed  as Communication and Information Technology for the Control of Avian Influenza or CISCAI, was launched last year. The CISCAI will employ a suite of information technologies that will shortly be field-tested in  selected ASEAN countries. The aim of the project is to gauge the performance and capability of these technologies to provide the requisite and timely information for concerned officials to act on in a rapid manner for the effective control and management of Avian Influenza (AI) outbreaks within the ASEAN region.

The threat of the Avian Influenza on human populations is real.  The virus itself does not “consider” any geographical boundaries and only regional and global efforts through a coordinated approach such as that of the CISCAI, and with the use of  sound science and technology , can we achieve success in controlling and managing the threat. In behalf of the ASEAN Foundation and the 10 nations which it represents, we wish for the successful implementation of the CISCAI, as well as, the effective  and successful control of AI  with the support of CISCAI.  

Dr. Filemon A. Uriarte, Jr.
Executive Director