Birdflu Losses Hit Bt19 Bn

Birdflu losses hit Bt19 bn

BANGKOK: The birdflu epidemic has cost Thailand about Bt19 billion in economic loss, a government thinktank reported to the Cabinet yesterday.

The figures include damage to businesses related to the poultry industry, as well as the “opportunity cost” of the epidemic, National Economic and Social Development Board secretarygeneral Jakramon Pasukvanit said.

He added that “only Bt4 billion” of the economic loss was inflicted on the private sector and that the NESDB did not expect a negative impact on the country’s GDP growth, which he said, was likely to remain between 7 and 8 per cent.

The Public Health Ministry yesterday confirmed an 11th person had fallen victim to the birdflu virus while an eighth suspected sufferer had died.

The confirmed victim, a 29yearold man from Nakhon Ratchasima’s Muang district, has already recovered, the ministry said.

Dr Jaral Trinwutthipong, directorgeneral of the ministry’s Disease Control Department, said the man fell ill on February 13 after burying his dead roosters.

He was admitted to Suranari Military Hospital on February 20 and then transferred to Ratchasima Thonburi Hospital two days later.

His condition improved after he was sent to Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Hospital last Tuesday and he was discharged five days later, Jaral said.

The ministry’s Medical Service Department confirmed the man had bird flu, he said. Seven of the 11 birdflu victims have died.

Jaral said another suspected birdflu victim had been found – the 20th such case.

He said the latest suspected case was a 42yearold Phrae man who became sick on February 21. He said the man died at Phrae Hospital last Thursday, bringing the number of suspected birdflu deaths to eight.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation yesterday warned Thailand it was premature to celebrate an end to the birdflu epidemic, as authorities said the Kingdom would be declared free of the disease next week, Agence FrancePresse reported.

--The Nation 2003-03-10