Chicken food is still popular in Port Moresby's restaurants, while it might be withdrawn from the table someday. Leaders from the South Pacific countries gathering here for a summit are seriously worried about a pandemic of potentially lethal bird flu strain that might kill a huge number of people on earth if there is an outbreak.

A Smaller Island States Summit of the Pacific Island Forum issued a statement Monday stressing the necessity for the Pacific countries for further concrete action against bird flu pandemic. The leaders called for a preparedness and response plan to be endorsed, and asked Australia and New Zealand, the two most developed countries in the south Pacific region, for immediate assistance. The Summit also requireed the Pacific Island Forum ministers to convene an emergency meeting to work out plans for urgent regional action in case of a bird flu outbreak.

Sources here told Xinhua that bird flu preparedness will be one of the top issues discussed at the 36th Pacific Islands Forum set for Oct. 25-27 here.

"HIV/AIDS is a regular health topic for discussion at the Forum and now the leaders will have to pay attention to the immediate hazard of the bird flu," said a media official of the Forum Secretariat.

As of Oct. 20, 2005, there had been 118 cases of bird in humans in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, leading to 61 deaths. Turkey reported first bird flu case on Oct. 8, raising concern on Europe's doorstep. Cases found subsequently in Hungary, Britain and Russia made Europe no safer continent.

So far the south Pacific region seems lucky to avoid the bird flu strain invasion. But the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum agree that no country could treat the threat lightly.

In New Zealand, mechanism against bird flu was set up and documents began to spread across departments and the detail of the planning for the potential arrival of the bird flu will be more available for the public.

New Zealand Health Minister, who is in charge of the health planning, said bird flu prevention must be taken seriously.

Australia has announced it will host a regional summit on bird flu from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 to discuss preparations for a potential bird flu pandemic in the region. It will be the first time experts from all Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have been brought together to find ways against bird flu threat.

"This meeting will look at both the levels of preparedness and what more needs to be done to improve preparation in each individual economy," said Australia Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

The meeting will focus on response capabilities and co- ordination between countries and examine whether developing nations would be able to cope with a major outbreak in the event about bird flu mutating into a virus transmissible between humans.

"All of those issues need to be worked out," said Downer.

Source: Xinhua