Health ministers, experts gather to tackle bird flu threats

Health ministers and experts from 30 countries on Monday gathered in Ottawa to discuss measures to ward off a wider spread of the bird flu virus, which experts fear might mutate into a deadly human pandemic.

Canada has stepped up its pandemic preparations with stockpiles of the coveted anti-flu Tamiflu and an action plan for provincial and federal health officials.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin called for rich nations to give a hand to developing countries and share with them anti-virus plans, influenza testing and drugs that may ward off the infection of the H5N1 strain, which has already killed over 60 in Asia.

"We are doing well as a country and we are ahead of most, but we also have a lot of work to do before we can be satisfied in Canada," Martin said.

"But the fundamental issue is that no single country can handle this problem in isolation. The world has to come together and that is what this meeting is all about," said the prime minister.

World Health Organization Director-General Lee Jong-Wook said that delegates to the conference will consider a Mexican proposal for wealthy nations to give out 10 percent of their stocks of Tamiflu and other potential drugs to developing countries.

"It makes a lot of sense to try and put out the fire out there, rather than waiting for this wave to reach you," Lee said.

At the two-day conference, health experts will also discuss the controversial issue whether the patent of Tamiflu held by Switzerland's Roche AG should be used by other pharmaceutical companies.

"A suggestion that's being made by some countries is that there are countries that have the capacity to manufacture the vaccine, that we actually need to assist them with technology transfers," Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh told reporters on Monday.

The World Trade Organization in 2003 gave permissions to governments to override patents during health crises.

Source: Xinhua