December 22, 2004

ASEAN Bird Flu Taskforce Determines Preventive Measures

The ASEAN taskforce, established to fight the bird flu threat, has decided on 8 action areas for the 10-member grouping.

The decision was made at the end of a two-day inaugural meeting in Singapore.

According to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore, the areas focused on include disease surveillance and alert systems to ensure prompt detection and reporting; effective measures to contain the disease such as quarantine and border control; sharing information on a regional epidemiological study; as well as emergency preparedness plans to respond quickly to new bird flu outbreaks.

Each of the tasks has been assigned to an ASEAN member country and the work plans would be discussed at the next meeting in Thailand in May next year.