First Cases Of Bird Flu Confirmed In Thailand

[surin]

FYI the bird flu ha been reported here in South OZ as recording a death tonight

Bronc...It's taken the Election off the front page here in Queensland...they had to wait until about page 3 to belt me!!

[george]

Update:

AVIAN FLU: Suspected victims die

Death of woman in Sukhothai last week may have been due to virus, doctors say

BANGKOK: Bird flu is thought to have been the cause of the death of a Sukhothai mother last week, even as her young son was in hospital with similar critical symptoms, the Medical Council revealed yesterday.

The Public Health Ministry had not included the woman's case in its reports of confirmed or suspected cases of bird flu, Dr Somsak Loleka, president of the council, told The Nation.

After all of her home-raised chickens died, the mother fell ill, succumbing early last week to bird-flu-like symptoms while being treated at Sri Sangworn Sukhothai Hospital, he said.

The woman's death was initially recorded as being from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, possibly caused by the avian-flu virus, said Somsak.

The woman showed a sharply decreased white-blood-cell count before she died, he said.

Her death came as her six-year-old son fell ill, Somsak said. The boy was transferred to Buddha Chinnarat Hospital in Phitsanulok, which has a higher capacity.

"It's very likely she died of the avian-flu virus," Somsak said, adding he had only learnt about this case because the doctors had consulted him on the treatment of the woman and boy.

Somsak said he had advised the doctors to send samples from both patients for lab tests in Bangkok, to find whether or not their illness was caused by avian-flu virus and as a preventive measure.

He said he had not been told the results of those tests and was not sure if the hospitals had followed his advice.

Dr Vichit Boonyawatana, director of Buddha Chinnarat, confirmed that the boy had been transferred there on January 15. The patient was being treated for critical lung infections in an isolation room of the intensive-care unit, the doctor said.

Samples from the boy were sent to the Disease Control Department to be tested for avian-flu virus on Monday, Vichit said. He said the results were expected within one week.

Meanwhile Dr Charal Trinwuthipong, director-general of the Disease Control Department, and Dr Pravit Haruansri, director of Sri Sangworn Sukhothai Hospital, both said they had not been notified of the woman's case.

In another case, Boonsom Nitikarn, a breeder of fighting cocks in Chacheongsao, whose illness was treated as suspected bird flu, died of pneumonia on Thursday, reportedly not of bird flu.

The provincial health chief, Dr Thawatchai Wanitchakorn, said yesterday that the man had suffered from a bacterial infection of the lungs and not bird flu.

Boonsom had been admitted to the provincial hospital on Tuesday for treatment of severe diarrhoea, the doctor said.

"During treatment Boonsom developed lung complications, and he was put under observation because the news about possible spread of bird flu broke around the same time," Thawatchai said.

An autopsy confirmed that Boonsom's infection was bacterial, and not caused by the bird-flu virus.

The Public Health Ministry yesterday confirmed two cases of bird flu and disclosed that three other patients had been put under medical observation.

The two confirmed patients, a seven-year-old boy from Suphan Buri and a six-year-old boy from Kanchanaburi, are being treated in Bangkok, Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said yesterday.

The two boys were found to be in the first stage of avian influenza, which is caused by the H5N1 virus, Sudarat said. The boy from Suphan Buri is in intensive care at the National Children's Health Institute while the Kanchanaburi boy is in stable condition at Siriraj Hospital.

Their blood samples have been tested and the results reconfirmed four times, in line with World Health Organisation requirements, she said.

Three other patients have been put under observation, the twin brother of the Suphan Buri patient, another in Sukhothai and a third in Chachoengsao, said Sudarat. She did not further identify them.

"I insist that they all have more chance of survival than of death," she said.

All the patients have been treated under the same regime as people suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), Sudarat said.

The minister added that with the health officials' experience in tackling Sars she believed the bird-flu situation was not worrying because, unlike Sars, it could not be caught from humans.

Jaral Trinwuthipong, directorgeneral of the Disease Control Department, said yesterday that Sudarat had declared the bird flu a non-critical communicable disease. The order in effect makes reporting of new cases mandatory and empowers medical authorities to issue necessary control measures.

In response to the ban on Thai chicken by Japan and the European Union, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday said the Kingdom needed to explain to the importing countries that all chicken exports had passed food-safety checks.

He expected only a slight impact of the ban on Thailand's total export value.

Arthit Khwankhom

Manatchai Ananta

THE NATION

---------------------------------

Statistics, as of yesterday

Six people tested for bird flu:

Two cases confirmed

Threee under observation

One declared free of virus

---------------------------------

Farmers can do nothing but watch

Poultry farm owners in Suphan Buri watched helplessly yesterday as teams of livestock officials raided their properties and slaughtered their chickens in a bid to halt the spread of avian flu.

An elderly farmer went into shock and was hospitalised after officials entered his farm without notice, put all 8,000 of his chickens into fertiliser bags and buried them alive.

"He had been under so much stress with all the talk about chickens having to be culled," said neighbour Somkid Uthaipibul. "When the officials came and rounded up all the chickens, he just collapsed."

Even farmers whose chickens are apparently healthy were forced to sign documents admitting that there are infections at their farms. The practice was said to be aimed at facilitating future compensation.

Nimit Saengchan, 37, who owns a farm in Bang Lane district, said he might have to lay off his six workers.

All 19,000 of his chickens, worth Bt80 each, were to be killed yesterday. He stands to get compensation of Bt40 for each bird.

"I had invested a lot and relied on the sale of 10,000 eggs produced by my chickens every day. Now I may have to find another job," said Nimit.

He said that a relative, who owned 30,000 chickens, was in a similar situation.

Another farmer, Banjob Taddokmai, said he had never faced such a crisis after 10 years in the business.

"I invested Bt1.5 million and still owe the bank much of that. I may have to become a carpenter," he said.

A farm owner in Chachoengsao, who managed to save all his 400,000 chickens, said he first heard about the flu's devastation last October.

"Veterinarians of a drug company alerted us about widespread deaths in chicken farms in Nakhon Sawan and they were afraid it could have been the bird flu," he said.

He said he did not want to be named because he was afraid that being critical of the government would make it hard for him to get compensation if the flu virus hit his farm in the future.

"I saved my farm myself by seeking knowledge and taking my own measures. This crisis could have been prevented if the government had carried out a different public relations approach. We needed a warning, not comfortable illusions about 'everything is alright'," he said.

He claimed livestock officials paid little attention to farmers' reports of unusual mass chicken deaths last year. "Many farmers paid a heavy price because nobody told them to stay alert," he said.

Lack of knowledge had resulted in practices that could trigger an epidemic, he said. For example, some farmers sold culled chicken at the markets instead of burying them. Some buried the chickens improperly.

"There's one woman who lost her mind after losing her business. She threw dead chickens onto other people's farms because she thought that if she was going bankrupt, others should, too," he said.

--The Nation 2004-01-24

[Guest IT Manager]

I think there is an extra part of this that needs outlining too. The biggest need for chickens, isn't the domestic market, as far as I can see, it's exports. They are effectively banned now, so many farmers and their workers are or will lose their livelihoods.

Last night on the news, we saw pictures of people working in a stripping room, taking the meat off on a production line. Bet they weren't working to provide chicken for the Tallad. Head tot toe covering, gloved, masked etc. None seemed to be terribly concerned and they are the ones who may have something to worry about, considering how few of us eat raw chicken.

I found SARS to be an over-reaction by the media, essentially, in support of their various governments. While I accept the need for vigilance, where is achieved a balance in the reporting and in the reaction from governments and tourists alike.

65 million people, 5 cases. Not a terribly high incidence in my humble opinion when I see people walking past, purchasing or inspecting chicken meat, laid out neatly on beds of ice, and behind the counter, the former owners of the legs, breasts etc, sitting in a large can ready to be made into soup.

At the end of the day, Taksin worries about how people see Thailand and its' effect on the countries income (perhaps read here, "his" as well). That's fair, but it goes to the nub of the problem when we discuss anything related to this Government. Credibility is IMHO, a function of perspicacity as well as transparency, and a lack of the latter increases my doubts about the former.

[mrentoul]

I can understand why Thaksin is worried about bird flu. Thailand is one of the world's biggest poultry exporters; the European Union, for example, takes chicken from no country other than Thailand.

In copy I read last night (which appears in your paper today) Thaksin had already worked out the potential impact of this scare on GDP.

That seemed brutal and rather calculating, I thought at the time, but he's right to look at the problem that way (apart from anything else, it's his job).

The rest of us may look at the problem differently. From where I sit, I am interested in how he handles the issue politically, and in particular how much he chooses to share with the media. In this day and age, it is simply not acceptable to sit on a crisis for several days to stop people 'panicking'.

It's paternalistic, patronising and ultimately self-defeating - communication these days is instant. The internet and media can bring down governments. You can't just tell them not to report something. In the West they would have your head for snowjobs such as the one Thaksin has mounted.

People get a lot more frightened when they don't know the facts. They think there's really something to worry about when there may not be - in terms of their own health, anyway.

Some posters appear to be arguing that governments have an interest in whipping up public hysteria over 'imaginary' problems (such as bird flu), to divert attention from 'real' issues (such as - err- the war in the Congo). If so, why the campaign of deception over the last few days?

I can't get into this argument, because it lacks focus. Who is trying to protect whom? Why? The Congo warrants people's attention, but at the moment bird flu poses a more immediate threat - certainly to the thousands of Thais who will lose their jobs over the next few months.

We should be thankful that, even while it was telling people there was no flu, the government took the precaution of sending its people out to farms to cull thousands of birds.

When this flu was discovered in Hong Kong in the late 90s, the government put down that country's entire chicken stock in just three days. Similar measures may be needed here to restore public confidence, and in particular buyer confidence in Thai poultry.

How the government handles chicken culling and disease quarantine measures, and compensation for farmers, are its next big test. We should all wish it the best of luck - and remind Thaksin about the Congo some other day.

[pnustedt]

When this flu was discovered in Hong Kong in the late 90s, the government put down that country's entire chicken stock in just three days.

Somewhat easier to do in HK which only imports chickens - the only people to suffer financially were the importers and retailers.

The reason the problem was so serious in 1996/97 was that the virus had spread from human to human.

[Rinrada]

Wot about DUCKS?

Khun wife has just gone down to the local friendly Ho Heng supermarket and wants a couple for the weekend...ducks that is ...so is it a case of DUCKS are OK.

Also it being Chinese New Year and with the combination of Robert Burns Night we have a couple of Thai Haggisis "haggai" on order for the big "dos" over the weekend..should be good...och aye ra noo

Fair fa yir honest sonsy face,great chieftian of the THAI Pudding race..

when all about ye are loosing face

lies,lies and sneers

[mrentoul]

They have been killing ducks as well, according to something I read in yesterday's paper.

[KevinN]

Rinrada; I have heard that eggs,chicken are Ok to eat if they are fully cooked,and if that is the case then duck should be the same,altho I do not know the dangers of handleing a chicken or duck if they were sick with the disease.But I did read where the large mkts [Carrefore,and Big C and Tesco] were only recieving chickens from the 3 or 4 large poultry farms that are disease free.

I ain't much on eating chicken anyway so the lose at my house is no big deal,but my wife won't let me buy any beef cause she said she heard someone had hoof and mouth disease in the village, and I do miss that.

And by the way what the heil is a THAI HAGGIS? I never heard of one and I know I wouldn't eat one Scots or Thai.

[pal78]

Some posters appear to be arguing that governments have an interest in whipping up public hysteria over 'imaginary' problems (such as bird flu), to divert attention from 'real' issues (such as - err- the war in the Congo). If so, why the campaign of deception over the last few days?

I think the war in the Congo warrents more attention than the war in Iraq and I was compairing like with like in that regard. Not compairing it to bird flu.

[george]

Follow-up:

Thailand convenes bird flu summit

BANGKOK: Thailand is inviting representatives from all six Asian nations hit by the bird flu crisis to an emergency summit.

EU and Japanese officials will also be invited to the meeting in Bangkok on Wednesday, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN food agency.

The announcement came as Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faced allegations that his government tried to cover up the outbreak.

The worst-hit country is Vietnam, where six people have now died of avian flu.

On Saturday, Vietnamese health officials confirmed that a 13-year-old boy who died in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday was the country's latest victim of the outbreak.

The WHO said an eight-year-old girl in the same city had tested positive for the virus and was in a critical condition.

Thailand is the only other country where avian flu has crossed from birds to humans. The death of a 56-year-old Bangkok man who raised fighting cocks is thought to have been caused by the virus.

The WHO has warned that the Asian outbreak could mutate and become more dangerous.

Jeopardy

The Thai Government has come in for strong criticism for its handling of the crisis, both from political opponents and the media.

The Bangkok Post newspaper accused the authorities of failing to take prompt action against the outbreak.

"The government's effort to sweep the problem under the carpet has exploded in its face, leaving the poultry industry in tatters and the very safety of the public in jeopardy," said an editorial in the paper's Saturday edition.

For their part, opposition politicians are threatening a motion of no confidence.

But Mr Thaksin denied accusations that his government tried to hide the crisis.

"There has been a lot of talk that the government has been trying to cover this up," Mr Thaksin said in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

"That we didn't say anything doesn't mean we weren't working. We've been working very hard."

Thailand's decision to call an emergency summit was welcomed by the European Union's health commissioner, David Byrne, who was visiting Thailand.

Mr Byrne told Reuters news agency the meeting would allow "experts to talk to experts" on how to fight the virus.

Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea have joined a growing list of countries to ban imports of poultry from Thailand, Asia's main exporter.

Thailand's main poultry buyers, Japan and the EU, had already banned Thai chicken, along with the Philippines, Hong Kong and Bangladesh.

Avian flu has also affected chickens in Cambodia, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea - but is not known to have jumped from birds to humans in these countries.

--BBC 2004-01-25

AVIAN FLU TIMELINE:

The illness is linked to close contact with live chickens

Nov 2003 - Thailand reports what it calls chicken cholera

15 Dec - S Korea confirms avian flu outbreak

9 Jan 2004 - UN sends help to Vietnam after avian flu outbreak

11 Jan - First of five Vietnamese deaths confirmed as avian flu

13 Jan - Japan confirms avian flu outbreak

15 Jan - Taiwan announces different strain of avian flu

21 Jan - Laos reports suspected chicken cholera

23 Jan - Thailand confirms first human cases of avian flu

23 Jan - Cambodia detects first case in chickens

[mrentoul]

I think the war in the Congo warrents more attention than the war in Iraq and I was compairing like with like in that regard.

Well, I don't. You can't spell, either.

[george]

Troops, prisoners deployed to fight bird flu

BANGKOK: Thailand brought in troops and prisoners today to kill millions of chickens in the hope of stopping the spread of highly contagious bird flu, which has jumped to humans in Vietnam and Thailand.

With most ordinary folk too scared to go anywhere near chickens, 400 soldiers were drafted into Suphan Buri province north-west of Bangkok, Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchop told reporters. A hundred prisoners were also brought in.

"We have had labour problems. It is difficult to find labourers as after the bird flu outbreak was confirmed, many of them are avoiding working on farms," Newin said.

All chickens in the province, a major area of production in a Thai industry that raises one billion chickens a year and earns $US1.5 billion ($1.93 billion) in exports, will be killed.

Thailand, which fears the disease and the import bans that have choked off overseas chicken sales will devastate its poultry industry, has been killing hens by tying them up in fertiliser sacks and burying them alive.

The government, fighting off allegations it covered up an outbreak of bird flu which the WHO fears could generate an epidemic worse than SARS, is promising swift and ruthless action.

But experts are wondering where it will emerge next after springing up in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia and Vietnam.

In all eight people have died, two in Thailand and six in Vietnam.

"There's no denying the disease is spreading," Anton Rychener, Vietnam representative for the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, told Reuters.

Vietnam's latest known human case was an eight-year-old girl in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City.

Children appear most at risk - five of Vietnam's six dead and both Thailand's were children - but nobody knows why and the only comfort to experts at the moment is that all appeared to have contracted it from sick chickens.

The World Health Organisation says if the avian virus combines with a human flu virus, the consequences could be devastating - a new strain which could sweep through a human population with no immunity to it.

The main problem now is how to stop it spreading, with the WHO calling the near-simultaneous outbreaks in Asia "historically unprecedented".

Thailand has invited senior health and agriculture officials from Asian countries and international agencies fighting the outbreak to a meeting to discuss such issues on Wednesday.

It could come in for some private criticism at the session, Western officials say.

Bangkok denies trying to cover up bird flu while it said a sickness in chickens that emerged in November was poultry cholera. The government said it was suspicious for weeks but knew for certain only when tests confirmed the disease on Friday.

"The government never realised it was avian influenza before yesterday, but it was suspecting that it might be. That's why some measures in extraordinary degrees had been put in place," said chief government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair.

Some were unimpressed with the explanation. "The government's efforts to sweep the problem under the carpet has exploded in its face, leaving the poultry industry in tatters and the very safety of the public in jeopardy," the Bangkok Post newspaper said in an editorial.

--Reuters 2004-01-25

[Dove]

Some of Thailand's neighbours are keeping watch on migrating birds. Wonder if the authorities are doing that in Thailand. With Winter in the North many birds fly south possibly carrying the deadly virus with them. Another thing I note is the number of pigeons in the Thapae Gate area in Chiangmai. There is lots of bird droppings over there, hopefully the pigeons don't carry the bird flu virus because human contact with bird droppings is high in these areas coupled by the sweepers and the wind that blows it in the air. Even crows are also another disease carrier. Perhaps the goverment should consider doing random sampling on these birds to check.

Sorry but us Doves are very cautious as it could wipe out our whole populations

[pal78]

I think the war in the Congo warrents more attention than the war in Iraq and I was compairing like with like in that regard.

Well, I don't. You can't spell, either.

Thanks for pointing that out. There are worse things than not being able to spell. The English language is very kind in that most people can make sense of something even when it's badly spelt, or the grammer is not perfect. Are you an English teacher or something, that you find it necessary to point that out.

So, you feel that 4,000,000 lives are not as important as the oil in Iraq. (Because after all what else is it about that situation that makes it more interesting?)

Fair enough I guess!

[Spellbound]

has been killing hens by tying them up in fertiliser sacks and burying them alive.

The poor b4st4rds, at least they should kill them first like other countries.

Some of these poor chickens will take ages to die and with pain with the quick lime sprinkled on them. ( Barbaric to say the least )

Budda must be frowning upon them for this !!!!!

[mrvietnam2001]

Wait, the best is yet to come. They will absolutely lose the shrimp lawsuit. Gonna cost thailand billions.

Vietnam will cave and pick up the slack. Vietnamese know all too well how "friendly and brotherly" the Thai's are ( not)

US will import even more from Vnam leaving thaksin to wonder " thit man, whas we gonna do now?"

Either going to end up as a big money grab from farangs, or thaksin will have his nose rubbed in the crap, thrown out of office and farangs will get all kinds of concessions.

Will be awhile before it shakes out though. ( not too long)

Mr Vietnam

[p_brownstone]

I would also love to see some enterprising reporter investigate share dealings in the major chicken producing companies over the past two weeks or so - the time when insiders knew the disease was Avian Flu but decided to tell no one for fear of causing "panic".

I'm not holding my breath though.

[george]

Thailand confirms first human death from bird flu

BANGKOK - One of the two Thai boys suspected of having bird flu has died three days after an outbreak of the deadly virus was confirmed in Thailand, a senior health official said on Monday.

"He died last night around midnight because of the bird flu," Charal Trinwuthipong, Director General of the Department of Disease Control, told Reuters.

The six-year-old boy was from Kanchanburi province, one of three districts in central Thailand where authorities have confirmed outbreaks and begun a massive culling operation.

The second boy, age 7, remained in critical condition in a Bangkok hospital. Another two people are being tested for the disease.

--Reuters 2004-01-26

[plachon]

PLACHON; You are wrong,,in the US,the press is not muzzled,a lot of press just doesn't report things the way they really are,but they are not prohibited,certainly some reporters do hide things,but that is their own doings for the browny points or hard dollars,And the prez might be to stupid to know the truth if it bit him on the ass, but the truth will always be in some news,You just have to be smart enough to winnow the chaff from the grain,from what I hear the press is muzzled here by upper level politicians.

And here is this PAL78 bitching about the quarantines and restrictions put on because of SARS and a very low death rate,maybe the death rate was so low because the rules were set to prevent a major disaster,and maybe it never came to pass because of the quick thinking of Viet Nam ,USA and Canada.Not because there was no reason to worry.and to even mention the deaths due to warring factions and mans inhumanity to man in the same context as the deaths from epidemic is just pure stupidity.

So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Fair enough Kev., you have the Onion and lots of "free press" in the States, but we'll just have to beg to differ on the actual and perceived level of freedom in the mainstream press. For example, pick up the Bangkok Post or Nation today and see how many pages / column space are devoted to "the world" , (whether it be outside Thailand or outside US) and then compare it to any mainstream paper in the US you care to name. I'd be prepared to lay a small wager that the Thai papers win hands down, at least proportionately to the overall size of the paper. My main point was that American citizens are largely denied a "world view" of news and events, because your press is largely in the hands of the paymasters of those politicians you so patently despise. And I'm not even going to start to mention the mass visual media. Unfortunately, Thailand has followed even further down the path of corporate ownership of all mass-media outlets, which is hardly surprising when the richest corporate-owner in the country is at the helm of the reigns of power too.

[mrvietnam2001]

Anyone who believes that any mainstream press in any country is accurately reporting is simply ignorant.

You can get into any peeing contest you like, but the facts support my claim.

Mr Vietnam

[Sojourner]

Gentlemen, I think we have to go back to the primary reason newspapers exist, and for that matter why the privately owned media exists. It's profit. The private sector will publish what they think we want to read. That is called marketing and is profit motivated. I don't think any newspaper in the world will change that objective just to add another plaque for accuracy in reporting to some obscure wall in a conference room somewhere. Needless to say nationally operated media has their own (not so) hidden agendas.

Who was it said, "Don't believe 75% of what you hear and 50% of what you read"?

[mrvietnam2001]

Who was it said, "Don't believe 75% of what you hear and 50% of what you read"?

Sayings. Hmmmm. who said "some people rob you with a fountain pen"?

Mr Vietnam

[george]

Thailand markets start to ache from bird flu

BANGKOK: - Thailand braced at the weekend for the economic fallout from its first outbreak of the deadly bird flu sweeping across Asia. Shares sank on the Bangkok bourse, the world's top performer in 2003, and the baht buckled on news that two people had caught the avian flu virus threatening the world's fourth-biggest poultry industry.

Tens of thousands of jobs are at stake in an industry that generates $1.5 billion in exports but more worrying is the threat to tourism in one of the world's top holiday destinations.

Friday's announcement led the European Union, the second-biggest buyer of Thai chicken, to slap a ban on imports a day after a similar move by Japan, which takes 60 percent of Thailand's chicken exports. Bird flu fears pushed the benchmark Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index down 0.75 percent to 754.44 points.

--Reuters 2004-01-26

[george]

Thailand has 10 suspected bird flu cases

BANGKOK - Thailand, which has confirmed its first human death from the deadly bird flu, has 10 suspected human cases of the disease, a government official says, as the country expands the number of its crisis zones.

"It is so far confirmed that two cases have contracted bird flu and another probable case is from Pitsanulok province," Department of Disease Control Director-General Charal Trinwuthipong told a ministerial meeting.

"Another 10 cases are suspected of contracting bird flu. Of those, four have died, but the lab tests have yet to determine cause of death," he said.

All four of the suspected cases had been in contact with chickens, he said shortly after the government said one of the two confirmed cases, a six-year-old boy, had died.

Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said earlier on Monday the bird flu crisis zone has been expanded to 10 of the 76 provinces from two.

"It is worrying because many other birds, including quail, have died, so we have to solve the problem in chickens as soon as possible," Health Minister Sudara Keyuraphan told the meeting.

She suggested some farmers might have added to the problem by not disposing of dead fowl properly.

"Some farmers did not know the proper way of destroying chickens. They just threw them into the river," she said.

--Reuters 2004-01-26

[george]

LISTEN ON-LINE:

Radio interview with PM Thaksin:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5583

[frodo]

No need to worry at all! Toxin say's all will be over in thirty days! CNN reports it will be many months for this to happen. But, heh, Toxin knows what he's doing. Yeah, right!

It's amazing how a man can believe his own lies. Just a few short days ago, it was reported in Channel News Asia that Newin stated this was nothing more than cholera. It's only cholera/bronchitis

Now, Senor Toxin denies this was ever said..."Someone else said that." Is he for real?

All I've read and heard about is the great "transperancy in this gov't." But, we did "have to hide this from the public." Very transperant, or rather apparant this twit is full of himself. Knowing the good folks of Thailand, they'll forget, he'll be forgiven, and business as usual in the near future.

[mrentoul]

The boy who died this morning was the first fatality from a confirmed bird flu case.

The Ministry of Health has now listed 10 other patients, including five already

dead, suspected of having contracted the disease. Confirmation awaits lab tests.

Before Friday, according to the government, we didn't have it. Now we have one dead, and possibly as many as five?

It has also spread to another eight provinces, with the bird cull extending to even large-scale, so-called closed-system farms such as Charoen Pokphand

Foods Plc's huge plants.

This virus seems to like cool conditions, and is spreading fast. Let's hope for an early onset of the hot season.

[davidm]

Grampian Foods has a major joint venture production facility in Kabinburi. I drove past there earlier today, and there were no checkpoints of any kind, no warning signs in Thai or English. Nothing. Hardly surprising the virus has spread so far so fast.

Meanwhile, the Government is putting together a compensation package. Wonder who will benefit?

[frodo]

Great radio interview! So full of s*** Liked the way he has denied everything, when in fact, he himself did say the country was free from this virus due to UV radiation. How he tends to forget his very own website and the script available online.

Thai chickens are safe to eat since Thailand is free of bird flu virus. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in the radio program “Prime Minister Thaksin Talks to the People,” broadcast on Radio Thailand on 17 January 2004, denied that bird flu was spreading in Thailand.

In his radio address, the Prime Minister said that a bird flu outbreak had been declared in several countries in Asia, namely Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, and South Korea. In the case of Thailand, he cited results of tests that said bird flu virus was not the cause of the deaths of many chickens here. The World Health Organization also joined the testing, which showed that dead chickens in Thailand were not infected with the bird flu. He told the people that respiratory syndrome and diarrhea were spread in chickens here. These diseases could not be transmitted to humans. Only animal-to-animal transmission was found in them.

The Prime Minister said that the bird flu did not occur in Thailand, perhaps because of hot weather and because the country has enough UV radiation that it is difficult for the virus to develop. He quoted a report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives as saying that around 29,000 to 30,000 chickens in the country died from respiratory syndrome and diarrhea. Aware of the safety of people, another 800,000 chickens were killed to control the spread of these diseases. He said that altogether not more than 1.5 million chickens were killed, against the figure of 40 million given in false reports.

He said that the exaggeration of the number of chickens killed recently were probably made by candidates in a local election, who might have had the good intention to help poultry farm owners and poultry raisers, or might be trying to seek compensation from the Government. In this regard, the Prime Minister asked for their help not to exaggerate, as this would spread all over the world, thus bringing damage to the country. As a result, the exaggeration would have an adverse effect on farmers and Thai exports would face difficulties.

For this reason, he stressed the need to tell the truth. The factual information was that more than 20,000 chickens died in several provinces, not in only one province, and the killing of more chickens was considered an effective measure to prevent the situation from getting worse.

The Prime Minister revealed that some countries that imposed strict controls, such as Japan, have shown confidence in Thailand’s chicken exports and hygienic standards. He called on exporters to help maintain the country’s trustworthiness. So thorough checking must be applied for the image of the country. He urged people not to be concerned about the issue, as the Government was confident that it would be able to cope with the situation.

Statistics show that Thailand was the world’s seventh largest chicken meat producer. In 2002, Thailand’s chicken meat production came to 1.38 million metric tons, accounting for 2.8 percent of the world’s output. The country exported 450,000 million tonnes of chicken in the form of frozen and processed products, representing 8 percent of the global market. As for 2003, Thai chicken exports were expected to reach 490,000 tonnes, an increase of 5.5 percent. During the first six months of 2003, Thailand exported about 234,800 tonnes of chicken meat worth about 16 billion baht. Major markets included Japan, 56 percent; the European Union, 28 percent; Singapore, 3 percent; and others, 13 percent.

The Thai chicken meat industry has experienced rapid expansion, and it has been developed to international standards to ensure good quality and food safety.

Loved the way he blamed political rivals as the cause, and the way he wants everyone to tell the truth...except him of course.

Public Relations Of Thailand Office of The Prime Minister

[mrvietnam2001]

Well, I don't. You can't spell, either.

Thanks for pointing that out. There are worse things than not being able to spell.

So, you feel that 4,000,000 lives are not as important as the oil in Iraq. (Because after all what else is it about that situation that makes it more interesting?)

Usually it's a sign of brain capacity and that's usually a good thing to have when trying to make a point to others in the hopes they take you seriously.

They've been eating their young in the "congo" since the beginning of time ( or selling them) so what's new? Life goes on and oil is a necessary component for humans to have in order to create better lives.

So it's obviously more important.

But certainly you can go and pledge your life and whatever else you have to make the "congo" a better place unless of course you think everyone else should be forced to do so.

Mr Vietnam