Containing the bird flu virus to the greatest extent possible and reducing the risk of infection in poultry and farmed free-range ducks will help to prevent a global human influenza pandemic, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Wednesday, the opening day of the Second Regional Meeting on Avian Influenza in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

"The disease could, in the worst case, lead to a new global human influenza pandemic," the FAO website quoted Samuel Jutzi, director of the Animal Production and Health Division, as saying. "There is an increasing risk of avian influenza spread that no poultry-keeping country can afford to ignore."

Since late 2003, bird flu has been discovered in eight countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos and South Korea.

Thirty-three people have died in Vietnam in several outbreaks, and another 12 have died in Thailand. There have not yet been any documented cases of human-to-human transmission, according to the WHO, but scientists fear that the virus may mutate into a form that could sweep through human populations.

Jutzi said that the disease will be extremely difficult to eliminate in the countries where it has appeared, since wild birds are natural hosts to the disease. But he stated that the domestic poultry are the real culprits in its spread.

"Current evidence suggests that trade in live poultry, mixing of avian species on farms and at live bird markets, and poor biosecurity in poultry production contribute much more to disease spread than wild bird movements," Jutzi said.

Many of the countries affected by bird flu have limited capacity to control the virus. They lack effective diagnostic tools and surveillance systems that are essential for early warning and timely response.

The Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese delegations to the conference will share their experiences and findings in fighting bird flu in an effort to determine why some countries have been more affected than others. Vietnam, for example, has been hit hard and repeatedly while China has reported very few cases.

Close to 140 million birds have died or been destroyed in the Asian epidemic to date, and loss of their flocks has left many farmers deeply in debt. Total poultry farm losses in Asia in 2004 are estimated at more than US$10 billion.

Attending the ongoing meeting, which concludes on Friday, are about 150 chief veterinary officers, scientists and experts from international organizations. During closed-door sessions, they will discuss advances in avian influenza research, both in the field and laboratory, as well as economic and policy issues.

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2005)