Vietnam and Laos will join hands in preventing bird flu among humans and emerging infectious diseases, partly through exchanging information and sharing experience, Vietnam News Agency reported Thursday.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed here on Thursday by the two countries' health ministers, the two sides will also exchange specimens for research purpose and delegations of scientists, organize relevant seminars and training courses, build up anti-bird flu plans, and conduct rehearsals on combating bird flu epidemics among humans, the Agency said.

Vietnam will help Laos to deal with the epidemics when it happen, it added.

Vietnam has detected 93 bird flu patients, including 42 fatalities, in 32 localities since the disease started to hit the country in December 2003, the Vietnamese Health Ministry said on Aug. 23, noting that it has seen no new human cases of infections since mid-November 2005.

In Laos, bird flu outbreaks among fowls occurred in its Vientiane capital in July. Early this month, the country declared to have basically contained the disease.

Source: Xinhua