Canada take the lead against bird flu

Canada hosts bird flu response summit
OTTAWA, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A two-day international summit of 29 health ministers concerned with a potential bird flu pandemic opened in Ottawa Monday.

The meeting is intended to help affected Asian and European nations strengthen their means of early disease detection and response to a potential avian flu pandemic, as well as addressing issues relating to the development and distribution of an avian flu vaccine and antiviral medicines.

Among the international agencies represented are the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

There have been 120 confirmed cases of bird flu being transmitted to humans in Asia, of which at least 60 have been fatal. In the past two weeks, thousands of birds have been culled in southern and western Europe as the related H5 strain of virus has turned up.

Sunday, Britain reported a quarantined parrot died of the H5N1 strain. The bird had recently been imported from Suriname on South America's northeast coast.

Good to see someone take the lead against this public health menace.