Health ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations met in Penang today to identify a common action plan to fight deadly epidemic diseases such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars)

and bird flu.

With the theme 'Health Without Frontiers', the health ministers plan to adopt a blueprint on coordinating efforts over surveillance and emergency responses to outbreaks.

The Asean ministers will also discuss efforts to reverse the spread of Aids in the region.

"Experiences have shown us that diseases today are on a global scale as they pose a common threat to the health, economic and social situations of all populations," Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said in a statement.

"As health is not confined by national frontiers, a key challenge for us today will be to address health issues through cooperative efforts in a spirit of partnership," he added.

Major concern

A year after the rapid spread of Sars from China, the World Health Organisation has warned that the deadly disease, along with bird-flu, remained a "major area of concern."

Sars, which killed nearly 800 people in more than 30 countries last year, and bird flu, which affected some 10 Asian nations and killed at least 23 people, had shown that health emergencies could arise without warning.

Tomorrow, the 10 Asean members will be joined by their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea in a first cooperative effort to tackle the region's health problems.