October 24, 2005

Canada hosts global meeting on bird flu

Canada is hosting a two-day meeting on bird flu, which would involve officials and technical experts from 30 developed and developing countries, as well as five international organisations. The Canadian High Commission said the aim was to discuss cooperation towards preparing for a possible pandemic.

Southeast Asian countries affected by bird flu would also attend the meeting.

According to the WHO, over 110 human H5N1 cases have been reported, of which 60 were fatal and all were in Southeast Asia. About 140 million domestic birds have also been killed by the virus or culled, WHO added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan was considering a ban on poultry imports to prevent any outbreaks within its borders, the country's government said.

Pakistan's food, agriculture and livestock secretary Mohammad Ismail Qureshi said either the ban would be imposed, or more proactive measures would be taken against the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. He added a decision would be announced soon.

Qureshi said Pakistan might also import limited quantities of live poultry, as domestic poultry production mostly met the country's demand.

Meanwhile, a nationwide surveillance system for bird flu has been developed, with the help of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Qureshi added. The government has already allocated an initial Rs40 million for bird flu surveillance in the country.

The system included a central laboratory for bird flu at the National Agriculture Research Centre in Islamabad, as well as 12 satellite laboratories all across the country.