In the past decade, several outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza infection among poultry have been reported worldwide, and in some cases, the disease has spread to humans affecting more than 300 people up to today. While most of the human cases of avian flu have been reported in the south-eastern Asia, the disease has also appeared within the European borders. In 2003, following a number of outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza among several poultry farms in the Netherlands, the country's public health authorities confirmed that during the same period the disease had also infected more than 80 individuals among the personnel of those farms or their families.
In the case of the Netherlands of course, the viral strain responsible for the infection of humans (H7N7), was not the same as the one that has caused a large number of deaths in Asia (H5N1) until today, even though there was 1 fatal case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza among those infected.
Nevertheless, this incident provides a clear indication that the circumstances that are necessary for the disease to spread to humans do exist, in certain cases, and that the danger of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza reoccuring among human population in Europe in the near future is imminent. The risk of infection appears to be higher for the parts of population who come in closer and more frequent contact with birds, either wild or domestic (which provide the natural reservoir for this group of viruses), which is usually the case for those inhabiting rural areas.
Furthermore, during these last 3 years, the highly lethal H5N1 strain of HPAI (probably of Asian origin) appears to be circulating among wildlife in several areas across Europe (causing sporadic outbreaks among poultry), while there are fears that the virus is becoming endemic in areas neighbouring the EU (Turkey, Egypt).
Despite the fact that up to now, humans have only sporadicaly been infected by the disease, WHO has expressed concern that the avian influenza virus may re-assort its genes with those from a human influenza strain, thereby acquiring the ability to move easily from human to human and thus triggering a pandemic, within the next years.
The population living in the rural areas of Europe is crucial to the potential transformation of avian influenza into a deadly pandemic influenza, since it appears to provide the first line of defense against such a prospect, due to specific circumstances pertaining to rural life.
This project aims to provide at it's final stage practical information and guidelines on effectively preventing and managing these potential threats, aiming specifically at the rural population, where a gap of information can be observed.
The project will take into account the special needs of the rural population and its different characteristics across three European regions which are representative of the South, Central-North and Eastern Europe.
Up-to-date scientific knowledge will be evaluated and criteria will be defined to integrate or customize the available material of public health campaigns, so that this can be disseminated in a feasible and effective way to the population. The channels and networks used for the dissemination of the public health material will also be assessed, reviewing existing efforts targeting the rural population.Following this review, the most effective communication strategies and information material will be identified and proposed as a best practice model.
