Materia Medica Malaysiana

Asia food-safety conference addresses avian flu

Seremban, Malaysia-AP -- Countries in Asia are pledging to produce and handle food more carefully to curb diseases such as avian flu.
But delegates at a U-N-backed food safety conference in Malaysia failed to determine how governments can better disclose information about outbreaks.

The renewed spread of bird flu in northern Thailand is underscoring concerns about not only the health consequences of such diseases -- but also their financial impacts and other consequences.

Bird flu is among Asia's biggest recent public health emergencies. The disease originates in chickens. Officials say it's not spread by eating chicken, but by people who handle the birds in production.