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BANGKOK - Southeast Asian health ministers are planning to hold a meeting at which they will discuss cooperation against the threat of deadly swine flu, Thai officials said on Wednesday.
Thai Health Minister Wittaya Kaewparadai said he and his counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would probably gather next week, although no date has been set.
"The meeting will be for regional readiness, it will benefit the region," Wittaya told a Thai government committee on flu surveillance.
Thailand's Public Health Ministry has offered to host the meeting in Bangkok. Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, said Philippines will chair the meeting.
During a teleconference organised by the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, ASEAN health experts from Brunei, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam said harmonising measures and initiatives is essential in the region's efforts to respond to the current outbreak of Swine influenza.
They also discussed specific actions being undertaken by the individual ASEAN members in addressing the threat of the disease.
So far, no cases have been reported in Brunei, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Mr Wittaya said the ministry would send 5,000 masks to 105 Thais living in Mexico and will seek the cabinet's approval for a 120 million baht (3.3-million-dollar) budget to evacuate Thai citizens if necessary.
The kingdom has already installed thermo-scanners at major airports to detect passengers with possible signs of the flu, and has also halted the import of pork products from Mexico and the United States. - AFP/CNA/ls
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