November 29, 2005

Brazil to hold three-day bird flu conference

Brazil's Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodriguez will open a three-day, hemisphere-wide conference on bird flu prevention, which is set to begin Wednesday in Brasilia.

The Hemispheric Conference on Bird Flu Prevention, organised by the Center for the Study of Foot-And-Mouth Disease in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Poultry Union and Brazil's Agriculture Ministry, will discuss joint prevention and control efforts by South American animal health officials, poultry producers and international organisations like the Organisation of Animal Health and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said the governments would have developed a basic, regional plan to coordinate risk analysis and other preventative measures.

The USDA will also participate in the event.

Brazil is the world's no. 1 poultry exporter, followed by the US.