Thailand's Success Against Avian Flu: Lessons for the World

[webfact]

 

Twenty years ago, Thailand faced a devastating avian flu outbreak, losing over 62 million birds, primarily chickens. The virus, identified as H5N1, spread rapidly among poultry and led to significant human fatalities.

 

Now, with countries like the U.S. facing similar outbreaks, there's much to learn from Thailand's effective response.

 

In late 2003, Thailand's poultry industry, a global leader producing a billion chickens annually, was hit hard by the virus. By January 2004, authorities confirmed the outbreak, suspected to have jumped from wild waterfowl to chickens. The response was swift and rigorous: massive culling of infected and nearby flocks, compensated by the government, helped contain the spread.

 

The country also restructured its poultry industry. Movement of live poultry was restricted, and farm hygiene standards were dramatically improved. A nationwide surveillance system, including village health volunteers, was established to report sick birds.

 

This reform saw a shift from small backyard farms to large-scale, industrialised poultry operations with stringent biosecurity measures, significantly reducing the risk of future outbreaks.

 

These large farms, with strict protocols on human entry and decontamination processes, effectively limited virus transmission. While smaller farms have re-emerged, industrial farms still dominate, helping to keep the disease contained.

 

Other nations that faced similar outbreaks could adopt Thailand's multi-faceted approach to control the spread. Such measures include culling, stringent surveillance, and restricted movement of animals, which were successfully implemented in countries like Japan, South Korea, and the Netherlands.

 

The case in the U.S. presents new challenges with H5N1 affecting not just poultry but also cattle. The dynamics differ significantly since cattle, unlike poultry, have a much higher economic value and show milder symptoms, making widespread culling unfeasible.

 

Experts suggest adopting biosecurity measures from the poultry industry, such as protective gear and sanitisation protocols, while adapting them for dairy farms. Recommendations include sanitising milking machines and ensuring farmer compliance to prevent virus spread.

 

Farmers' cooperation, incentivised through reasonable compensation, is crucial for effective monitoring and control efforts. Moving forward, as H5N1 continues to affect various animal species globally, innovative strategies beyond those tested in poultry will be essential to tackle this evolving threat.

 

Thailand's experience underscores the importance of swift action, industry restructuring, and continuous monitoring in combating avian flu—lessons that remain relevant as the world confronts similar challenges today.

 

File photo courtesy: Apichart Weerawong/AP

 

-- 2024-06-15

 

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[johng]

I have an idea...instead of killing off the chickens, small farmers and world food supply,

how about those crazy scientists in those "dual purpose" labs  stop messing around with viruses to make them more lethal/transmissible ?

[Gottfrid]

Yes, here they have definitely made a very good work.

[Geoffggi]

59 minutes ago, johng said:

I have an idea...instead of killing off the chickens, small farmers and world food supply,

how about those crazy scientists in those "dual purpose" labs  stop messing around with viruses to make them more lethal/transmissible ?

China never stops giving ..................LOL

[Pouatchee]

funny, this op was almost posted at the same time as this one:

 

 

 

thailand buried its infected poultry... stupidest thing ever, as the only way to really kill a virus apart from chemicals is fire. in the meantime the virus is mutating and just waiting to resurface again

 

https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/07/03/arctic-permafrost-pandemic-life-uh-finds-a-way/

[Ombra]

I saw something of Thailand's effective response to the avian flu epidemic twenty years ago when I drove with my wife from Nakhon Phanom to Mukdahan. The highway was blocked at one point by inspectors in white suits who were spraying disinfectant on the tyres of every vehicle, and checking what was being transported. The thoroughness of the inspection was very impressive. On the way home in the evening, though, I was surprised to see no checkpoint on the road, but my wife explained that government employees go home at five o'clock.

[hotchilli]

20 minutes ago, Ombra said:

I saw something of Thailand's effective response to the avian flu epidemic twenty years ago when I drove with my wife from Nakhon Phanom to Mukdahan. The highway was blocked at one point by inspectors in white suits who were spraying disinfectant on the tyres of every vehicle, and checking what was being transported. The thoroughness of the inspection was very impressive. On the way home in the evening, though, I was surprised to see no checkpoint on the road, but my wife explained that government employees go home at five o'clock.

A 9-5 virus

[john donson]

scare mongering and will only increase the price, as usual

[connda]

It must suck to live your life with constant, unending Mysophobia. 

 

 

[johng]

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

A 9-5 virus

 Remember 2020  same same but slightly different.

[stoner]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

spread rapidly among poultry and led to significant human fatalities.

 

this isn't completely true.

 

it had a very high mortality rate but in no way was there significant human fatalities. 12 out of 17 who got it died.

 

 

[G Rex]

42 minutes ago, johng said:

 Remember 2020  same same but slightly different.

 

Yes.  If I remember correctly Covid19 became much more dangerous after midnight.

 

apparently....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A recent update on human cases of avian influenza from the WHO through May 3:

 

"Globally, from 1 January 2003 to 3 May 2024, 889 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus were reported from 23 countries. Of these 889 cases, 463 were fatal (CFR of 52%)."

 

And specifically in Asia from the WHO's Western Pacific Region:

 

"From 1 January 2003 to 3 May 2024, a total of 254 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus have been reported from four countries within the Western Pacific Region (Table 1). Of these cases, 141 were fatal, resulting in a case fatality rate (CFR) of 56%. The last case in the Western Pacific Region was reported from China, with an onset date of 26 March 2024.

 

 

https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai_20240524.pdf?sfvrsn=5f006f99_132

 

Looks like WHO is saying Thailand hasn't had an official/reported human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) in many years, but both Cambodia and Vietnam (our nextdoor neighbors) have had cases and deaths thus far in 2024:

 

 

https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/influenza/h5n1-human-case-cumulative-table/2024_may_tableh5n1.pdf?sfvrsn=6ab0fe24_3&download=true