February 1, 2005

Vietnam to host international bird flu meeting

Vietnam will play host to a gathering of experts from some 20 countries and international organizations, who will discuss new measures to control bird flu, a United Nations (UN) official revealed Tuesday. The date for this meeting will likely fall in late February.

The meeting, to be financially sponsored by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health, will take place on Feb. 23-25 in Ho Chi Minh City, said Anton Rychener, FAO chief representative in Vietnam.

Experts from the World Health Organization and such countries as Thailand, China, Cambodia, the United States, Canada and India will discuss new measures to cope with bird flu, evaluate the old ones implemented by affected countries over the past 12 months, and review scientific advances in research into the disease, he said.

Bird flu has jumped to 16 people in Vietnam since late December2004, of whom 12 - ten in the south and two in the north - have died. The disease has spread to 32 cities and provinces across the country, killing or leading to the forced culling of more than one million fowls since January.