Minister of Health Dr Hamad bin Abdullah al-Manai inaugurated here today the International Conference on Bird Flu, organized by King Abdulaziz National Guard Medical City. Speaking on the occasion Dr Ziad Memish, the Head of the Conference's Organizing Committee, said the organization of the conference aims at gathering experts and specialists in the field of combating infectious and epidemic diseases. On his part, Dr Abdullah Al-Sharif, the Assistant Undersecretary of the Health Ministry for Preventive Medicine, said the conference will shed light on the bird flu and the required preventive measures to confront it. He noted that the conference will review a plan of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in this respect. Meanwhile, Dr Abdulaziz Al-Rabee'a, the Executive Director General of Health Affairs at the National Guard, said the conference is the first of its kind in the Middle East and the second of its kind in the world. He hoped that the conference would yield positive results. On the other hand, Minister of Health Dr Al-Manai said the organization of the conference embodies the Kingdom's keenness on solving health problems. Dr Al-Manai reiterated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is free from any bird flu cases. 'No cases of bird flu were reported in the Kingdom, and preventive measures have been made to prevent the spread of the disease to the country', he added.
