EU to give Asia €29m to fight bird flu

EU - The European Union will give €29.6m to help Asia fight bird flu, the health commissioner said today.

Markos Kyprianou is in Vietnam on a 10-day tour through south-east Asia to discuss efforts to contain the deadly strain of bird flu that has recently spread from Asia to Europe.

“The EU should have reacted more quickly to help south-east Asia to tackle the problem,” Kyprianou said during talks in Hanoi with Vietnamese agriculture minister Cao Duc Phat.

“It’s better late than never. … The EU is interested in co-operating with Asia to solve the problem.”

Kyprianou, who arrived in Vietnam yesterday for a three-day visit, plans to discuss measures being taken by each country to contain the spread of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. He will also visit Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Since late 2003, bird flu has ravaged poultry stocks across Asia and jumped from birds to humans. At least 62 people have died.

Source: breakingnews.iol.ie

7 November 2005