Suspected Bird Flu Victim Dies

[sriracha john]

Suspected bird flu victim dies

A worker on a free-range duck farm died from bird flu-like symptoms in Pho Prathap Chang district of Phichit yesterday and health authorities put his 12-year-old son under close observation for signs of infection with the virus. Manee Mankhetkit, 48, was taken to the provincial hospital on Monday after he developed a high fever, suffered from a cough, sore throat, chest pains, and breathing difficulties. The man was treated in an isolated ICU because he had come into contact with fowls. He was a hired hand at a duck farm which has more than 1,600 birds. Doctors pronounced him dead due to kidney and heart failure. His 12-year-old son Sakda, who worked alongside his father, was taken to Phichit hospital yesterday. He too was put in an isolation ward for observation and no visitors were allowed to see him. Livestock officials have collected samples from the free-range ducks, which have being dying in big numbers over the past week, for testing for the bird flu virus. Public Health Permanent-Secretary Prat Boonyawongwirot said lab tests were being made on samples collected from the dead man's body to see whether he was infected with the deadly H5N1 virus as believed. The results were expected to be released today. Although an avian flu outbreak has never occurred in the district, Phichit was listed as an avian influenza epidemic zone, he said. Thailand faced its fifth bird flu outbreak in early February when the disease re-emerged in Nakhon Sawan and Phichit. The first outbreak struck the country in January 2004 when more than 60 million fowls were culled. A total of 25 people have

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/011008_News/01Oct2008_news11.php

Edited October 1, 2008 by sriracha john

[kingwillly]

Suspected bird flu victim dies

A worker on a free-range duck farm died from bird flu-like symptoms in Pho Prathap Chang district of Phichit yesterday and health authorities put his 12-year-old son under close observation for signs of infection with the virus. Manee Mankhetkit, 48, was taken to the provincial hospital on Monday after he developed a high fever, suffered from a cough, sore throat, chest pains, and breathing difficulties. The man was treated in an isolated ICU because he had come into contact with fowls. He was a hired hand at a duck farm which has more than 1,600 birds. Doctors pronounced him dead due to kidney and heart failure. His 12-year-old son Sakda, who worked alongside his father, was taken to Phichit hospital yesterday. He too was put in an isolation ward for observation and no visitors were allowed to see him. Livestock officials have collected samples from the free-range ducks, which have being dying in big numbers over the past week, for testing for the bird flu virus. Public Health Permanent-Secretary Prat Boonyawongwirot said lab tests were being made on samples collected from the dead man's body to see whether he was infected with the deadly H5N1 virus as believed. The results were expected to be released today. Although an avian flu outbreak has never occurred in the district, Phichit was listed as an avian influenza epidemic zone, he said. Thailand faced its fifth bird flu outbreak in early February when the disease re-emerged in Nakhon Sawan and Phichit. The first outbreak struck the country in January 2004 when more than 60 million fowls were culled. A total of 25 people have

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/011008_News/01Oct2008_news11.php

scary stuff, there seems to be more and more cases coming out of the woodwork again.

and we are going into flu season.