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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2005;294:2961.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 141 words of the full text and any section headings.

Health officials from more than 100 countries met last month in Geneva, Switzerland, to identify key components of a global action plan needed to control the spread of H5N1 avian influenza in birds and limit the threat of an avian flu pandemic in humans.

Tackling H5N1 at the source (birds) through such measures as culling and vaccination is the first line of defense set out in the plan. Other measures include strengthening early detection and response systems for influenza in animals and humans, preparing and testing national pandemic preparedness plans, and other measures.

The plan will require as much as $1 billion over the next 3 years and an additional $35 million is needed immediately to support high-priority actions over the next 6 months by the World Health Organization and other agencies, health officials said (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr58/en/).