February 13, 2006

North African nations to cooperate against bird flu

Five North African countries agreed Friday, Feb 10, to work together to fight bird flu, with a common strategy to better monitor migrating birds and exchange information.

Agriculture and health officials from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia met in Tunis to detail national programmes to prevent the bird disease from spreading, and to lay out a joint action plan.

While the officials said the virus had not been found in their countries, international experts are trying to determine how it may have spread from Asia to eastern Europe and now Nigeria in west Africa.

The head of the Libyan commission for the fight against bird flu, Kheris Belkassem, suggested creating "regional watch programme" among the countries.

Officials said they were especially vigilant and concerned this year about the annual influx of migratory birds throughout the region in April.