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Asia-Pacific steps up preparedness efforts against bird flu

Asia-Pacific steps up preparedness efforts against bird flu KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - China's financial hub Shanghai on Monday started screening international passengers for bird flu amid global fears that the virus could mutate into a more powerful form. Acknowledging that separation from Asia by thousands of kilometres of sea offers little protection, Australia and New Zealand also took steps to ward off a bird flu disaster. At least 68 people have died from bird flu since it emerged in Asia in 2003 - nearly two-thirds of them in Vietnam, according to the World Health Organization. So far, most human cases

Asia-Pacific regional coordination to fight bird flu

Asia-Pacific regional coordination to fight bird flu The Asian Development Bank (ADB) began hosting Friday a meeting of major partners to discuss regional coordination to meet the threat posed by avian influenza in Asia and the Pacific, the ADB said in a news release. The event is a follow-up to an informal meeting, where regional donors shared information on their bird flu projects and activities in the region, on the sidelines of the high-level conference on bird flu in Beijing in January, said ADB. At the Beijing conference, the international community pledged 1.9 billion U.S. dollars for the fight against avian

Japan FM Vows to Fight East Asia Nationalism

Japan FM Vows to Fight East Asia Nationalism Wrapping up his visit to the United States, Japans Foreign Minister Taro Aso has commented on Tokyos fraying relations with Seoul and Beijing, saying he believes the three countries will withstand the current conflict through growing cultural and economic exchanges in the region. The rising tide of nationalism in East Asia will be difficult to turn back but must be channeled in a positive way, Aso said. There is a fine line between patriotism, a healthy love for ones country and narrow-minded nationalism that breeds hatred towards others. He did not name

Lack of aid weakening bird flu control in Asia

Lack of aid weakening bird flu control in Asia Weak disease-surveillance and inadequate aid are thwarting efforts to control bird flu in Asia, according to a senior official of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The organisations assistant director-general, He Changchui, was speaking at a press conference following a meeting of health and agriculture ministers from 11 Asian nations in Delhi, India last week (27-28 July). He said international aid was a third of what was needed to combat the epidemic in the region. In a joint declaration, the meetings delegates pledged to strengthen systems for detecting and containing bird flu outbreaks in people

Trinidad bans dyed feathers from Asia over bird flu

Trinidad bans dyed feathers from Asia over bird flu PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Trinidad and Tobago's annual Carnival next February will be without feathers from Asia after the government banned their import because of concerns about bird flu. A shipment of dyed feathers intended for use in costumes will be returned to China after languishing for a week in a warehouse in Port of Spain, the government said. "The Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources wishes to advise the public that it has barred the entry of several items, among them a container of dyed feathers, into Trinidad