CARIBBEAN HEALTH experts yesterday urged governments to prepare for a possible bird flu outbreak in case the disease spreads from Asia to the Caribbean. The warnings came after health officials from 20 Caribbean countries, the Pan-American Health Organisation and the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre met to check the state of readiness in the event of an outbreak. Regional governments have asked the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control how to handle treatment if there is an outbreak. "It is not a question of if the bird flu comes to the Caribbean but rather when it comes, and that is the approach we are taking," Guyana's Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy said. He said that most Caribbean countries would have to import medicine to deal with any outbreak of the disease. PUBLIC EDUCATION James Hospedales, the director of the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre, called for a public education campaign to inform the public of the global campaign to beat back the disease that began in Asia. He said there was no need to panic but noted the need for adequate lab testing facilities if the pandemic reaches the Caribbean. Health authorities and the public should be on the lookout for people with pneumonia-like symptoms and should report these promptly he said. Bird flu spreads from bird to bird and usually does not infect humans. There are several strains of bird flu but only a few are deadly. Experts are tracking the H5N1 strain for fear it could mutate and spawn a human flu pandemic. Bird flu globally so far has killed around 60 people, mostly poultry workers, and millions of birds. Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com