24/11/2006
THE fourth international conference on bird flu, with 600 participants, will take place from December 6-8 in Bamako, a Malian cabinet official said today.
The conference will "take stock of the past year's global efforts against avian flu and evaluate the risks of human pandemic flu", Minister of Livestock and Fishing Ibrahima Toure told a news conference.
The participants of this international meeting, jointly organised by Mali's government, the European Union and the African Union, will include ministers of health and those in charge of the fight against bird flu, veterinary experts and doctors from over 100 countries.
Alongside this meeting, several dozens of national and international non-governmental organisations, as well as civil society representatives, will meet in the Malian capital to discuss issues tied to deadly virus.
The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, which can be transmitted to humans and is potentially fatal, has been detected in more than 50 countries since it first appeared in Asia in late 2003.
In Africa, eight countries - Nigeria, Egypt, Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Ivory Coast and Djibouti - have been affected.
