China continues to be in the international spotlight when it comes to being in compliance with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new strategy on international reporting of infectious diseases.

Last week the WHO’s 60th World Health Assembly finished up with more than 2400 people from its 193 Member States, nongovernmental organizations and other observers attending. One notable accomplishment was the adoption of the revised International Health Regulations (see my earlier post). As I indicated, these regulations are designed to give the WHO broader authority in helping countries deal with the international spread of infection disease.

In another effort, on the final day of the Assembly, that seemingly reaffirms the IHR, those gathered passed a resolution — “Pandemic influenza preparedness: Sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits”. The resolution, among other things, urged WHO members

“to continue to support, strengthen and improve the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network and its procedures through the timely sharing of viruses or specimens with WHO Collaborating Centres, as a foundation of public health, to ensure critical risk assessment and response, and to aim to ensure and promote transparent, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the generation of information, diagnostics, medicines, vaccines and other technologies”

It requests the WHO Director-General to take a number of actions to ensure that the proper framework, procedures and financing are in place to accomplish these goals. This also includes establishing an international stockpile of pandemic vaccines and creating a working group to draw up new rules for the sharing of flu viruses by WHO collaborating centers and reference laboratories.

On the heals of the Assembly’s action came the announcement by China’s Health Ministry that a 19-year-old soldier hospitalized on May 14 had contracted the H5N1 bird flu. Henk Bekedam, the WHO’s representative in China, said the case was China’s 24th of 25 human infections that occurred without a reported outbreak among poultry.

“That is not a good record. I have to say that is still confirming that in China the animal surveillance system needs to be strengthened because this human case is a very clear reflection that the virus is still circulating,” Bekedam told reporters.

Repeated concerns over delays by Chinese health authorities in providing information on bird flu and other emerging diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, continue to be expressed. The WHO was said to be pressing China’s Health Ministry for more information.