February 17, 2004

Bird Flu Summit Held in India

In a bid to control the boundless spread of the fatal bird flu virus, senior officials from South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has come together in New Delhi, India on Monday to churn out resolutions.

"Since the virus does not discriminate between political and geographic boundaries, there is a need to devise joint strategy in consultation with neighboring countries," said Indian Health Minister Sushma Swaraj.

"There is a need to address the problem at the psychological level as well", she added. The members discussed preventing unnecessary panic among the public.

After one-day meeting, the delegation issued "New Delhi Resolution" against the bird flu virus, which has killed 20 people in Vietnam and Thailand.

The resolution affirmed the commitment of the SAARC member states to take effective steps in a transparent manner to avoid the spread of the bird flu in the region.

It decided to strengthen cooperation among member states, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization in taking measures to prevent and control the spread of the bird flu.

It reiterated the need for early setting up of a SAARC Surveillance Center, and a Rapid Deployment Health Response System to deal with emerging and re-emerging disease.

The resolution recommended enforcement of temporary ban on import of live poultry, poultry meat products, eggs and egg products and other by products, poultry vaccine and medicines as well as poultry feed from the bird flu affected countries.