Health and Agriculture Ministers from 11 countries throughout Asia to meet New Delhi today to discuss strategies in dealing with a probability of further bird flu outbreaks.
It has been reported that the Agriculture and Health ministers from eleven south and south East Asian countries are attending a meeting organized by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Harsaram Pandey, the WHO spokeswoman says the focus is on controlling bird flu and better communication with local communities. It has been reported that in Indonesia following the death of a 44-year-old man, the country is now growing fastest in respect to the number of death toll.Indonesia has recorded now its 42nd death, same as with Vietnam. Reports have shown that more than half the people who were reported to have been infected with bird flu over the past 3 years have succumbed to the disease. It was also reported that Thailand recorded its 15th death from bird flu, after not having an outbreak of the virus since last year.
According to reports from the WHO, bird flu has killed at least 132 people worldwide since it started ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. It was further explained that the human cases have been mostly linked to contact with infected birds, but there is an growing fear among experts that the virus could mutate into a new form making it more easily transmissible among humans, possibly leading to a pandemic.
