By DPA
Rome : Terming the bird flu situation in Bangladesh "serious", the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Monday urged the country to engage in "long-term strategic campaigns" designed to control the spread of avian influenza.
"Bangladesh has already prepared a National Avian Influenza and Human Pandemic Preparedness Plan and an Emergency Operational Plan to meet the threat of bird flu," Joseph Domenech, the agency's chief veterinary officer, said in a statement.
"But there is an urgent need for vigorously stepping up and extending current H5N1 control campaigns in order to prevent the virus becoming widely entrenched. The situation remains of serious concern and will require further national engagement and coordinated international support," Domenech added.
The first outbreak of bird flu was officially recorded in Bangladesh in February. The virus has since spread to 11 of its 64 districts.