United Nations Radio

Excellent work is being done to control the outbreak of a bird flu pandemic, but it needs to be sustained because the threat is there.

That according to the UN official responsible for coordinating efforts to control avian influenza or bird flu.

Dr. David Nabarro says there were still outbreaks of bird flu at the beginning of the year, but particularly in countries where the virus has become entrenched - Indonesia, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Egypt and to some extent Nigeria.

"But if we look at the rest of the world, I can continue to report that the situation is really improving. Countries generally have invested massively in improving the functioning of their veterinary services and also the security -what we call the 'bio-security' around which poultry are reared has generally improved."

Dr. Nabarro says it doesn't mean that one can say globally bird flue is completely under control, but it means in the rest of the world there's a great deal of vigilance and action underway.

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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