June 21, 2006

India, Pakistan to cooperate in controlling bird flu
 

India and Pakistan on Tuesday discussed joint steps to control bird flu as they seek to cooperate in tackling regional health-care concerns, an Indian spokesman said.

The first meeting of a technical-level working group was aimed at strengthening the rival nations' capacity to detect and respond to bird flu and prepare for a possible human flu outbreak, said Navtej Sarna, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman.

Both nations have confirmed cases of bird flu and have culled tens of thousands of chickens in an attempt to stamp out the disease. So far, however, neither country has reported any human cases of the deadly virus.

The two countries also plan to work together on battling polio, an orally transmitted viral infection that involves the gastrointestinal tract and occasionally the central nervous system.

Both sides also exchanged information on drug and pharmaceutical administration and cooperation in the field of traditional systems of medicine, such as homeopathy, Sarna said.

The Indian side at Tuesday's talks was led by B. P. Sharma, a joint secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, while the Pakistani delegation was headed by Mohammad Reza, deputy director-general in the Health Ministry.

Since January 2004, India and Pakistan have been cooperating in various fields, including controlling human trafficking and drugs.

The talks are part of a wide-ranging dialogue aimed at resolving six decades of animosity between the two neighbours, who have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, a divided Himalayan region claimed by both countries.