MaximsNewsNetwork: 14 April 2010 – UNTV: United Nations, New York – The Senior UN System Influenza Coordinator, David Nabarro, spoke today about the upcoming International Ministerial Conference on Animal and Pandemic Influenza to be held in Hanoi and he discussed the lessons learned from last year’s outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus. While there has been substantial global progress towards pandemic preparedness in recent years, it is vital to maintain that momentum to respond effectively to existing and possible future threats, according to a new study by the United Nations and the World Bank. The report, entitled Animal and Pandemic Influenza: a Framework for Sustaining Momentum notes that an estimated 75 percent of new human diseases originate in animals and an average of two new animal diseases with cross-over capabilities emerge every year. David Nabarro, Senior UN System Influenza Coordinator, speaking to reporters in New York, pointed out that in recent SARS, H5N1 avian influenza and H1N1 pandemic influenza have emerged, and questioned whether we are “well enough organized as a world to be prepared for diseases that can jump from the animal kingdom and lead to sickness and possibly quite widespread suffering among humans. The report will be taken up by delegates from over 80 countries when they meet at the International Ministerial Conference on Animal and Pandemic Influenza, which will be held in Hanoi, Viet Nam, from 20 to 21 April. Nabarro said that when the H1N1 …