By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

THE chief executives of Western Micronesia are asking the U.S. to strengthen their defenses against bird flu virus saying their proximity to affected Asian countries puts them at risk.
CNMI Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Guam Gov. Felix Camacho and Palau President Tommy Remengesau signed a joint letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johannes seeking additional technical support to fight potential bird flu outbreaks.
“While inviting visitors from around the world to these islands, we strive to protect them from invasive species and pathogens carried by daily commerce and travel. Our proximity to H5N1 outbreaks in Asia puts the tropical western Pacific at substantial risk for the arrival of avian influenza,” they said in their letter signed during the three-day 7th Western Micronesian Chief Executives Summit that concluded yesterday.
“Current federal efforts in surveillance and monitoring for avian influenza in Micronesia are reliant upon limited funding, spread across a vast geographic region. Migratory birds from Asia frequent all of the Micronesian islands and our cultural relationship with chicken creates a clear mechanism for the movement of avian influenza into domestic flocks across Micronesia,” they added.
The Micronesian leaders want “additional support from the federal government in surveillance, monitoring and responding to potential threats posed by avian influenza, both in wild migratory birds and domestic poultry.”
“Currently, there are no APHIS state-level veterinarians in Micronesia, and response capabilities in the event of the positive detection of H5N1 or other highly pathogenic avian influenza are limited,” they said.
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control periodically sends a team of doctors in the Northern Marianas and other islands in the region that are associated with the U.S. to train personnel to deal with a possible bird flu outbreak.