ROME, June 25 (Xinhua) -- United Nations food and health agencies will hold a meeting in Rome this week to discuss the state of bird flu in poultry and of H5N1 infections in humans.

        The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that the three-day meeting, which begins on Wednesday, will review the control and prevention campaigns over the past three years.

        It will also assess the constraints on effective disease prevention and control.

        The conference will also explore ways to improve disease prevention and control strategies, and review the state of preparations for an influenza pandemic where humans are infected by bird flu.

        The meeting will bring together officials working on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in animal and human health from around 15 key countries, scientists and representatives of international and regional technical agencies, the FAO said.

        The conference is organized by the Rome-based FAO, the World Organization for Animal Health, the World Health Organization, the UN Children's Fund and the office of the UN System Influenza Coordinator.

        The H5N1 bird flu virus has infected over 310 people and has killed more than 190 since 2003. Over 250 million chickens have been killed to stop the spread of the virus.