WHO's Viet Nam office launches its own website
Hanoi, 16 January 2009—A new dual-language website has been launched by WHO’s Viet Nam office. The website will serve as an important communication tool for WHO’s partners, the media and the general public.
“The site is an excellent one-stop-shop for anyone wanting to learn about WHO Viet Nam—what we do, our goals, mission, challenges and achievements,” said Dr Jean-Marc Olivé, WHO Representative in Viet Nam. “I am particularly pleased that we were able to establish a full Vietnamese language site. I hope the Vietnamese community, both at home and overseas, will access the site and keep across the latest health issues.
To access the English language site
To access the Vietnamese language site
FAO/OIE/WHO joint mission to the Philippines to investigate Ebola Reston virus in pigs
MANILA 7 January 2009—At the invitation of the Government of the Philippines, experts from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have arrived in Manila to participate in a joint mission to further investigate the Ebola Reston virus identified last October in pigs from two farms in the Philippines.
The fact that this is the first time that the virus has been found outside monkeys, and the first time ever, worldwide, that it has been found in swine, a food-producing animal, makes this mission particularly important – especially considering the potential implications for animal and human health and welfare.
The mission started on January 6 and will last 10 days. During this period, the joint FAO/OIE/WHO team will work with Philippines counterparts to address, through field and laboratory investigation, important questions as to the source of the virus, its transmission, its virulence and its natural habitat, in order to provide appropriate guidance for animal and human health protection. This work will be only the start of a lengthy process to address these issues.
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