Colombian authorities announce Monday they have detected the first suspected cases of bird flu in the South American country, but insist the strain is not harmful to humans.

In a statement, the Agriculture Ministry says avian influenza was discovered in chickens at three farms in Western Colombia's Tolima state. The affected flocks were immediately quarantined to halt the spread of the disease

In the face of a possible Avian flu pandemic, many world governments are preparing and storing anti-viral drugs, but experts fear it will do little to counter the onslaught of the illness.

Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert says governments should be preparing to cope with the pandemic, instead of relying entirely on the hope of using vaccines and drugs to control it

Romania and Turkey began the slaughter of thousands of domestic fowl Sunday, as a precaution against the spread of bird flu, after both countries confirm their first cases of the disease over the weekend.

In western Turkey, military police set up roadblocks at the entrance of a village near Balikesir. A two-mile radius was quarantined as veterinarians and other officials began destroying poultry at two turkey farms

According to the U.S. State Department, global health experts are meeting in Washington D.C. to discuss a coordinated response to the bird flu epidemic.

"What this event does is it brings together 65-plus countries and international organizations that are concerned about preventing the spread of avian influenza," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack tells reporters

Scientists believe that a deadly pandemic is possible based on studies of the 1918 "Spanish flu" virus.

The genetic mutations in the recently recreated, 1918 flu are similar to those seen in the H5N1 avian flu virus killing tens of millions of poultry and some people in Asia