Greece has proposed to host a conference of health ministers from Balkan and Black Sea countries next month to coordinate response measures to the avian flu threat, Greek Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis said on Thursday.

"The prime minister has approved plans for a conference of health ministers from the Balkans and the Black Sea early in November," Kaklamanis told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

"The conference is designed to draft a common plan of action in the case of an avian flu pandemic," he added.

The initiative came hours after the European Commission announced that bird samples from Romania tested positive for avian flu, though adding that it is not yet clear whether the particular virus is the Asian strain that is deadly to human beings.

Source: Xinhua