300,000 Chickens Culled Today In Bird Flu Outbreak

[george]

H5N1 virus detected among chicken in Nakhon Phanom

KHON KAEN: -- Some 300,000 chicken in Nakhon Phanom will be culled Sunday after the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been detected there, caretaker Deputy Agriculture Minister Adisorn Piengket announced.

Adisorn told a press conference in Khon Kaen Sunday that lab tests confirmed that the strain of bird flu virus was detected in some of 2,200 chicken died in the farms in Nakhon Phanom last week.

As a result, the ministry ordered the culling of 300,000 chickens in 78 farms there.

-- The Nation 2006-07-30

[george]

80 patients monitored for bird flu

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's Public health Ministry has named 80 patients in 19 provinces nationwide as being under close monitoring for bird flu infection, ministry permanent secretary Prat Boonyawongvirot said on Sunday.

The patients, now under treatment at hospitals and public health care units throughout the country, include 18 in Phichit, 14 in Sukhothai, nine each in Phitsanulok and Suphanburi, seven in Nan, four in Nakhon Sawan, three each in Phetchabun and Uttaradit, two each in Nakhon Phatom and Nonthaburi, and one each in Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Kamphaengphet, Chacheongsao, Nakhon Nayok, Phathumtani, Phrachinburi, Lampun, and Uthai Thani.

All are awaiting the results of laboratory tests to find out whether they have caught the deadly virus or not after they developed flu-like symptoms including high fever and coughs and had records of contact

poultry which died of unknown causes, Dr. Prat said.

Dr. Phaijit Warachit, head of the Medical Science Department, Sunday visited Phichit in the north, which is currently the province worst affected by the bird flu outbreak. He went to inspect testing operations at the department's mobile laboratory unit.

More scientists and technical specialists were deployed to conduct the tests as the number of suspected bird flu patients in Phichit and nearby provinces increased, he said.

However, the doctor said so far the more than half of those tested have caught the common influenza or flu, and not the feared H5N1 virus, and that some others have been infected by other diseases.

No new bird flu cases have been found, Dr. Phaijit said, and the remaining 17 patients in the province are waiting for the test results.

--TNA 2006-07-30

[sriracha john]

Even higher numbers being reported now. Is bird flu back with a vengance, again, in Thailand??:

113 suspected with bird flu

The number of patients suspected to have bird flu has reached 113 across the country and all are being kept under strict surveillance, the Public Health Ministry said. The results of laboratory tests are still awaited and until then health workers cannot say for sure how many, if any, have picked up the disease. The ministry said 75 suspected patients were in Phichit, 14 in Sukhothai, five in Kanchanaburi, three in Nakhon Sawan, three in Suphan Buri, two each in Bangkok, Phitsanulok, and Phetchabun and one each in Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Maha Sarakham, Uthai Thani and Uttaradit.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/30Jul2006_news04.php

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

Wondering about the disparity in numbers for Phicit province with 75 reported by BP and only 18 by TNA.

[Jai Dee]

The Public Health Ministry puts 80 people under close watch for suspected bird flu

The Public Health Ministry has put 80 people from 19 provinces on the watch list for suspected avian influenza.

Public Health permanent-secretary Prach Boonyawongwiroj (ปราชญ์ บุณยวงศ์วิโรจน์) said officials are waiting for results of laboratory tests if these people have been infected with the bird flu virus.

Dr. Prach said 18 of the patients being under observation are from Phichit, 14 from Sukhothai, nine from Phitsanulok and Supan Buri each, seven from Nan, four from Nakhon Sawan, three from Phetchaboon and Uttaradit each, two from Nakhon Pathom and Nonthaburi each and one each from Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Kamphaneg Phet, Chachoengsao, Nakhon Nayok, Pathum Thani, Prachin Buri, Lamphun and Uthai Thani.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 31 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

Provincial governors lay down strict measures to prevent bird flu outbreak

The Ministry of Interior’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Sucharit Patchimnun, has reinstructed all provincial governors to be on alert in preventing the bird flu outbreak.

After the bird flu virus has been found in many locations, Mr. Sucharit said the provincial governors have to ensure that the disease will not spread to other areas, and they have to develop a better understanding with the residents. He said top protective measures must be implemented.

Governors across Thailand have already been assigned to inspect their respective areas, to deal with possible bird flu issues.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 31 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

Phitsanulok livestock officials bury thousands of dead chickens from eight villages in Tambon Tha Muen Ram after the area was devastated by bird flu. Thailand last week confirmed its first human victim from the outbreak.

Source: The Nation - 31 July 2006

[ilyushin]

Oh pluck a Danger Zone!

[Scott]

The number of possible human infections seems to be high. Is this virus getting easier to catch? I would think that people would be being a little bit cautious about handling sick or dead chickens.

[Jai Dee]

Mr. Banpot orders to strictly monitor on poultry transfer along Thailand-Laos border

Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry's Permanent-Secretary Banpot Hongthong (บรรพต หงษ์ทอง) has ordered officials to strictly monitor on transferring poultry along Thailand-Laos border areas after the bird flu contraction has been found in Nakhon Phanom (นครพนม) Province.

He informed the bird-flu situation in the country that only two provinces, namely Phichit (พิจิตร) and Nakhon Phanom, have been found with bird flu contraction.

He, however, is confident that the bird-flu prevention policies of Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Khunying Sudarat Keyurapan (คุณหญิงสุดารัตน์ เกยุราพันธุ์) will work effectively and can control the situation within five days.

He said that the new round of bird flu outbreak has caused people to be more cautious on consuming poultry products.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 31 July 2006

[PeaceBlondie]

Now that I'm back in Chiang Mai, I notice that none of the provinces that are listed with bird flu patients are in the northeast, or the Lanna provinces. Do we have fewer chicken farms here, maybe?

[xbusman]

I think that its endemic in Laos and Myanmar. There is no way to know if something is raging out of control in either places, infrastructure just too poor to capture the information.

Its completely out of control in Indonesia and by all appearances the Chinese are battling it quietly in the south. I would be very surprised if it is not found throughout Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

[plachon]

Now that I'm back in Chiang Mai, I notice that none of the provinces that are listed with bird flu patients are in the northeast, or the Lanna provinces. Do we have fewer chicken farms here, maybe?

Nakhon Phanom and Mahasarakham were in Northeast last time I looked and Lamphun is a Lanna province I believe, so you maybe living up to your signature PB. :D

To Xbusman, actually it has been endemic in Thailand since the first outbreak, and Thailand represents far more of a threat to Lao chickens, than the other way round. That's why if you take a road trip into Laos at the Nong Khai Bridge, you'll observe Lao livestock officials spraying down vehicles with disinfectant.

[xbusman]

You know, I was somewhat convinced that it has always been here since the first outbreak. Various rumors from upcountry folks I have talked with, and just an uneasy feeling with the careful reports. The level of reporting and infrastructure in Thailand is just so much better than surrounding countries that I reasoned if there was smoke here, there must be fire in places like Burma.

Plachon, can you really confirm that it has been on the ground these past fifteen months or are you working on appearances also.

[sriracha john]

More and more people are being monitored:

765 villagers under H5N1 surveillance

Some 765 villagers in bird flu-infected Nakhon Phanom province have been put under medical surveillance for 14 days to establish if any of them have contacted the H5N1 virus, Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat said yesterday.

All of the villagers have either been in direct contact with dead chickens or lived in areas where they died.

Six of the villagers were reported to have high fever yesterday, but laboratory tests were still being conducted to verify whether any of them had the deadly bird flu virus.

A Medical Science Department mobile-lab vehicle was scheduled to arrive at the Nakhon Phanom provincial hospital yesterday evening, and would immediately commence operations.

At a meeting with senior public health officials in Bangkok yesterday, Phinij gave instructions to all public health and medical personnel in Nakhon Phanom to be on the alert around the clock with no days off, even during the weekends, until the spread of the virus in the northeastern province bordering Laos is under control.

The discovery of bird flu in the province last week caught public health and livestock authorities by surprise because the virus had been reported mainly in Central Plains provinces in earlier outbreaks.

Meanwhile, Deputy Agriculture Minister Charan Trinwutthipong said initial findings indicated that the virus might have been spread to Nakhon Phanom by unscrupulous egg traders who switched eggs from restricted zones in the Central Plains for sale in the Northeast. He confirmed that the latest bird flu outbreaks remained restricted to Phichit and Nakhon Phanom provinces.

In a separate incident, Uttaradit provincial livestock officer Phanom Meesiripan reported that officials yesterday found more than 50 dead ducks in a roadside ditch. They were apparently dumped by duck farmers who feared their entire flocks would be culled if they reported the dead birds to the authorities.

This is precisely what killed the teen who died. After a few of his fighting cocks died, he hid the fact for fear that the others would be culled. Some farmer loses 50 ducks, but rather than report it, he hides the fact in the hopes he can sell off the remaining ducks before they are culled or die of bird flu themselves. Thailand has a long way to go to combat this type of short-term thinking and is reason enough to surmise that the bird flu will do much more damage than necessary.

- ThaiDay

Edited July 31, 2006 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

And now... the alert covers the whole Nation:

Bird-flu alert for entire country

As the number of suspected bird-flu cases increases nationwide, Caretaker Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan yesterday declared all 76 provinces of the country animal epidemic control areas, with stricter rules on the transport of poultry and handling of dead birds.

The move follows the mass culling of 300,000 chickens at 78 farms in Nakhon Phanom province on the weekend.

The Public Health Ministry is closely monitoring 765 people who took part in the slaughtering, fearing they might have been exposed to the potentially deadly bird-flu virus.

Caretaker Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat said all 633 people involved in the culling, plus 111 farm workers, 18 people in the families that operated the farms and three other villagers were put on the provincial bird-flu watch list.

The minister was speaking during a trip to Na Klang district in the north-eastern province where the H5N1 virus was detected.

All 765 people on the list would be monitored for 14 days.

So far, six people had developed a high fever, Pinij said. Two of them had influenza symptoms and had received oseltamivir, the only anti-viral drug that can be used to treat people infected with H5N1. The other four had tested negative for the influenza virus.

He said surveillance and disinfecting in the province had to be stepped up.

The Medical Science Department yesterday sent a mobile laboratory unit to the Nakhon Phanom provincial hospital to conduct further tests on suspected cases.

Pinij ordered the province's public health office to set up a bird-flu advisory team to assist and give advice to community hospitals on how to detect the H5N1 virus in humans and on the appropriate use of oseltamivir.

Besides Nakhon Phanom's Naklang sub-district, there were 45 suspected cases of human infection in 10 provinces, said Pratch Boonyawongwiroj, permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry.

Fifteen cases were in Sukhothai, eight in Phitsanulok, seven in Suphan Buri, six in Phrae, three in other districts of Nakhon Phanom, and two in Phetchabun. Nakhon Nayok, Uttaradit and Phichit reported one case each.

Pratch said there were no other confirmed cases in Phichit besides that of a 17-year-old boy who died late last month.

Meanwhile, the Department of Livestock Development (DLD) yesterday blamed a "neighbouring country" (hmmm... how diplomatic of him. Who could they possibly mean? Costa Rica?? ) as the source of the bird-flu outbreak in Nakhon Phanom.

Yukol Limlamthong, the DLD's director general, said his inquiries had found the H5N1 virus entered chicken farms in Nakhon Phanom via egg trays farm workers took from their customers on "the other side" [of the Mekong River]. (ahhh ok, Costa Rica IS on the other side of the Mekong; waaaay on the other side)

The province is located on the bank of the Mekong River which forms a natural border between Thailand and Laos. The Lao government last week admitted that much of its poultry population had been infected with the bird-flu virus.

Sudarat yesterday banned the import of all chicken-farm accessories (including egg trays) from neighbouring countries. She said the outbreak in the province had been contained. (we heard THAT claim under Outbreak #1 through Outbreak #23, her credibility is wearing a little thin )

Yukol insisted the H5N1 virus had only been detected in Phichit's Bang Moon Nak district and Nakhon Phanom's Na Klang sub-district, despite reports of chickens dying of suspicious causes in other provinces. The first human bird-flu victim this year died in Phichit's Tap Klo district.

"I am also wondering why there are confirmed human cases in areas where the virus is not found in poultry. Medical doctors have to investigate," he said in a telephone interview.

Under the Agriculture Ministry's latest epidemic control measures, anyone found transporting birds illegally, dumping poultry carcasses in natural waterways or burying dead poultry without informing livestock officials would face a fine or jail.

The Nation

[Jai Dee]

Thailand points finger at Laos over bird flu

Thailand is offering help to Laos in stamping out bird flu, a Thai official said on Monday, after Bangkok accused its impoverished neighbour of allowing the H5N1 virus to spread across the border.

A delegation is due to arrive in the Lao capital Vientiane on Thursday to discuss cooperation in fighting bird flu outbreaks, which led to the culling of hundreds of thousands of chickens in Thailand and Laos last week, Livestock Development chief Yukol Limlaemthong said.

"We are at high risk," Yukol told Reuters after the slaughter of 310,000 hens in an egg-producing village in the northeastern Thai province of Nakhon Panom, which Thai officials say probably became infected via contaminated egg trays from Laos.

"We know we can't interfere in their domestic issues but we would like to find out what sort of help they need to fight the disease effectively together," Yukol said.

Thai officials said on Sunday 78 farms in Nakhon Panom had been hit by the virus shortly after the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) confirmed an outbreak in a suburb of Vientiane, the Lao capital.

The Vientiane outbreak is the only known case in Laos while Nakhon Panom is 300 km (200 miles) to the southeast.

Lao Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanhthalansy said there had been no reports of outbreaks across the border from Nakhon Panom and criticised Bangkok for suggesting a link to the Thai cases.

"Those remarks were made by irresponsible and uncouth officials," he told Reuters by telephone. "Under the current critical circumstances, we should work together to solve the problem, rather point fingers at one another."

The farm in Vientiane, where about 2,500 chickens died earlier this month, according to Lao state media, also had an outbreak in early 2004 when the virus swept through parts of Asia, including Laos, where most of the 5.6 million people live in remote, rural areas.

FAO bird flu expert Laurence Gleeson said he was trying to find out if the Thai and Lao outbreaks were related.

"We do not know whether the recurrence of avian influenza in some parts of the poultry in the two countries is a result of low-grade circulation of the virus in backyard farms, or a reintroduction from outside," Gleeson said.

"A lesson learnt from the outbreaks in the two countries is that the animal health surveillance system needs to be reviewed," said Gleeson, who is due to arrive Vientiane on Tuesday.

Thailand has tried to step up its defences against bird flu following the return of the virus after an eight-month lull and the death of a 17-year-old youth in the northern province of Phichit.

Adopting an extra cautious stance, health officials have placed more than 800 people involved in culling in Nakhon Panom or in hospitals in the area on a bird flu watch-list.

The Agriculture Ministry also banned imports of poultry and equipment from neighbouring countries, with violators facing a maximum penalty of 2 years in jail and/or a 40,000 baht ($1,000) fine.

Source: Reuters - 1 August 2006

[Jai Dee]

Thailand Will Jail Recalcitrant Farmers to Stem Bird Flu Virus

Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand vowed to jail farmers failing to promptly report poultry deaths, and closed land borders to fowl trade to stem outbreaks of bird flu that killed a 17-year-old man last week.

Poultry owners who fail to notify authorities of mortalities within 12 hours face up to two months in jail and fines of as much as 4,000 baht ($106), Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said in a statement yesterday. Provinces that border Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar were ordered to ban poultry from those countries. Those violating the ban face up to two years in jail and as much as 4,000 baht fine, the ministry said.

"The new rules are very harsh and will help resolve this problem,'' Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters in Bangkok today. "The main problem now is that poultry owners are reluctant to report deaths for fear that officials will order the culling of all of their poultry.''

Thailand, the world's fourth-largest poultry exporter, is trying to control its first outbreak of the H5N1 avian influenza virus this year. The disease in birds risks infecting people and creates chances for the virus to mutate into a pandemic form that may kill millions of people.

The H5N1 virus is known to have killed 134 people, most of them through contact with birds, and might kill millions more should it becomes contagious, researchers have said.

Russia, which has reported more than 60 H5N1 outbreaks in poultry this year, eradicated the virus from all regions except one in Siberia and no new infections have been recorded since July 5, the country's state-run RIA Novosti news service reported.

Western Siberia

West Siberia's Tomsk Region is the only part of the country where the virus hasn't yet been eradicated, RIA reported yesterday, citing a statement from the Agriculture Ministry.

Since 2004, Thailand has reported 23 cases, of which 15 were fatal. The most recent fatality was confirmed July 26 in a 17-year-old youth from the northern Thai province of Phichit.

The H5N1 virus was found in poultry in Nakhon Phanom province, 740 kilometers (460 miles) northeastern of Bangkok, the Department of Livestock said on its Web site yesterday. That's the second outbreak reported in less than a week. The government on July 24 said the virus killed fowl in Phichit province.

Detection of the H5N1 virus is being complicated by the current rainy season during which poultry deaths are more common because of Newcastle disease and avian cholera. Those diseases don't represent serious human health risks.

'Riskiest Period'

"This is the riskiest period of the year for bird flu virus to spread because scattered rain nationwide weaken poultry and makes them easier to be infected by the virus,'' Yukol Limlamthong, director general of Livestock Department, told state-run Radio Thailand today.

The livestock department culled 6,350 egg-breeding chickens in the Muang district of Nakhon Phanom to control the infections, it said in a statement. Nakhon Phanom borders Laos, which last week reported an H5N1 outbreak on a commercial farm near the Laotian capital, Vientiane.

"The ban on imports will make us better able to control the virus's spread after we ordered the slaughter of all poultry in the infected area,'' Thaksin said.

Source: Bloomberg - 1 August 2006

[sriracha john]

A vendor packs chickens for sale at a market in Bangkok. Thailand's tourism industry has urged the government to wipe out the latest outbreak of bird flu before October, when peak season begins for the 12-billion-dollar business. (AFP)

Tourism fallout feared from Thai bird flu outbreak

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's tourism industry has urged the government to wipe out the latest outbreak of bird flu before October, when peak season begins for the 12-billion-dollar business.

"Bird flu must be brought under control within two months. Otherwise, the tourism industry will suffer when high season arrives," the Thai Hotels Association vice president Prakit Shinamornpong told AFP.

Thailand has confirmed that the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus had re-emerged in two northern provinces, killing a 17-year-old boy who had handled a dead fighting cock.

Some 300,000 birds were slaughtered at the weekend in a bid to wipe out the virus, and health officials in broad swathes of the country are on high alert for any future cases.

Tourism agencies worry that the possible spread of bird flu in Thailand, as well as neighboring Laos, could hurt the industry just as it is rebounding from the effects of the December 2004 tsunami.

"Now we have received bookings for high season, which are normally made a few months in advance," Suparerk Soorangura, former president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, told AFP.

"If Thailand fails to make it clear right now that the country can control the bird flu, tourists will panic about the outbreak and decide not to come to Thailand later this year," he said.

The latest bird flu death was the first in more than seven months. So far, the H5N1 virus has been confirmed in two provinces, including one on the boarder with Laos.

The government has banned chicken imports from the neighboring country, which has a much weaker health system than Thailand's.

"If tourists are aware of flu outbreaks in neighboring countries, Thai tourism will be affected too," said Suparerk.

"Consequently, countries in the Southeast Asian region should join hands and work seriously to prevent a new round of disease."

The tourism industry, which accounts for six percent of the Thai economy, has rebounded since the beginning of this year after last year's impacts of December 2004 tsunami.

The industry expects 13 million tourist arrivals in 2006, generating revenue of about 12.3 billion dollars.

The kingdom was criticized for being slow to respond to the first outbreak of bird flu in 2003.

It has stockpiled 1.5 million capsules of the anti-viral drug oseltamvir, a generic version of the drug Tamiflu which Thailand began producing this year.

The government has also mobilized 900,000 health volunteers to watch for the virus and to educate farmers about how to prevent it.

Thailand has suffered 23 human cases of the disease in the last couple of years, 15 of them fatal.

Health experts fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form that is transmitted more easily between humans, marking the first stage of a global flu pandemic that could kill millions.

[Jai Dee]

PM Thaksin is confident that the bird flu pandemic is still under control

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is confident that the bird flu situation can still be restrained, and there is no need to declare it as an endemic disease.

Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin said the bird flu situation in the provinces of Nakhon Phanom, Phichit, and Sukhothai is still controllable, and relevant officials are doing their best in containing the disease. However, he said that the general public has to coordinate with the officials by providing news and information related to poultry. If the bird flu outbreak has occurred in an area, people are not allowed to transfer any types of poultry to other locations.

Regarding the anti-bird flu vaccine, the Prime Minister admitted that he is not confident with its efficiency yet. Thus, he would like to wait until the research has indicated that the vaccine is 100 percent potent before it can be used.

Meanwhile, the export of frozen chicken products has not been as heavily affected from the recent outbreak as cooked chicken products.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 1 August 2006

[plachon]

You know, I was somewhat convinced that it has always been here since the first outbreak. Various rumors from upcountry folks I have talked with, and just an uneasy feeling with the careful reports. The level of reporting and infrastructure in Thailand is just so much better than surrounding countries that I reasoned if there was smoke here, there must be fire in places like Burma.

Plachon, can you really confirm that it has been on the ground these past fifteen months or are you working on appearances also.

Only that a neighbour who works with Livestock Dept. told me that it has been around since the last big outbreak popping up here and there in controllable numbers, but they were able to deal with it and didn't need to announce an outbreak to the media, under instructions from Bangkok. This time it's hard to deny, as it's jumped into people again.

Because of Thailand's more advanced economy and infrastructure, especially roads, it actually makes it more likely for there to be outbreaks here because a/ there are far more movements of poultry in any given day or region, and b/ the more intensive nature of the poultry business narrows genestock and makes birds less resistant to infection, when there is an outbreak. Farmyard chooks (gai ban) and other poultry may quite likely be latent carriers of the bird flu virus, without showing the symptoms, which is why it'll take a miracle to eliminate it entirely from Thailand without slaughtering every last bird in the country.

[Jai Dee]

Dr. Kanthathi to make understanding with Laotian representative about bird flu issues

Foreign Affairs Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon (กันตธีร์ ศุภมงคล) will develop a better understanding with the representatives of Laos on bird flu issues.

According to Laos’ cancellation to chair the meeting on measures to deal avian influenza, Dr. Kantathi said that he would like every affected country to recognize the importance of cooperation to solve this problem.

Today, he will discuss with a Laotian representative via telephone about the matter again, and he hopes that Laos will be willing to cooperate on this issue.

He said that Thailand and its neighboring countries have signed a strategic framework called ACMECS. According to the agreement, a budget of 100 million baht can be used to tackle the bird flu pandemic.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 02 August 2006

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

9-year-old girl from Lop Buri dies from 'suspected bird flu'

A nine-year-old girl succumbed to suspected bird flu in a Lop Buri hospital yesterday morning. If laboratory tests confirm the disease, she will become the second human casualty here this year.

"She is the first suspected bird-flu patient in our province," Lop Buri public health chief Dr Pranom Kamtiang said yesterday. She said blood samples had already been sent for tests in Bangkok and the results should be available within 24 hours.

According to Pranom, public health officials have already inspected the girl's hometown in Khok Charoen district to find out if anyone else was similarly affected. She told journalists that bird-flu surveillance had been stepped up in other parts of the province.

"We have put 19 patients on the watch list," she said.

She let it be known that her department was working in tandem with livestock officials to find out if the disease was spreading in the province. Unlike its neighbouring province of Phetchabun, Lop Buri was not previously on the bird-flu watch list.

Lop Buri livestock chief Jintana Danwiwatporn yesterday insisted there had been no mass deaths of fowl in Khok Charoen district.

"Recently, some fowl died in Sa Bot district but lab tests ruled out bird flu," she said.

Jintana said she still could not understand why the girl had had the symptoms of bird flu. The girl's mother said there were dozens of home-raised fowl in her neighbourhoods but none of them had died.

"I saw my daughter playing with the birds but I never thought that would kill her," the grieving mother said.

According to her, her daughter had had a sore throat and been running a temperature since Monday. She gave her an antipyretic medicine but her condition did not improve.

On Tuesday, she sent her daughter to Khok Charoen Hospital, which referred her to Lop Buri Hospital on the same day because of the seriousness of her condition. Lop Buri Hospital kept the girl in a special zone for patients with severe viral or bacterial infections.

Despite the best efforts of the medical staff, the child died about 6.45am yesterday.

Last month, a 17-year-old boy died of bird flu in Phichit.

In a related development, the Public Health Ministry's deputy permanent secretary Narongsak Angkhasuwaphala said all hospitals should strictly check patients with a high fever to prevent deaths and the spread of bird flu.

"If there are patients with bird-flu symptoms, relevant officials should be informed so that the necessary action is taken immediately," he said. According to him, 21 provinces in the country are associated with bird-flu risks.

According to official figures released on Tuesday, 164 patients were on the suspected bird-flu list. Of them, 107 were in Phichit.

Other provinces with reported suspected bird-flu cases include Sukhothai, Nan, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai, Uttaradit, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Pathom, Prachin Buri, Lampang, Nakhon Sawan and Nonthaburi.

In Sukhothai, more than 12,000 chicken in Sri Samrong were culled after some local fowl died en masse. Culling took place simultaneously in various areas in response to Sukhothai Governor Sukij Charoenrattanakul's instruction.

In Surat Thani, 35 checkpoints were erected to prevent illegal transportation of fowl. Offenders, if convicted, will be fined up to Bt10,000 and jailed for a year.

The Nation

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

R.I.P., little girl....

[Jai Dee]

ACM Kongsak: Concerned agencies have well cooperated in preventing bird flu virus

Interior Minister Kongsak Wanthana (คงศักดิ์ วันทนา) disclosed that related agencies have cooperated well in preventing further outbreak of avian influenza.

Air Chief Marshal Kongsak spoke about the prevention measures of further outbreak of the bird flu virus. He stated that currently, there are pandemics of flu, dengue fever and avian influenza, which have caused a delay in the detection of the diseases.

He stated that concerned agencies namely, the Public Health Ministry, the local administrative agencies as well as volunteered units and local residents are working on the preventive measures and also publicizing about the disease.

ACM Kongsak said the officials from the central unit have been dispatched to the infected areas, to educate the residents.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 August 2006

[Jai Dee]

Interior Minister orders officials in Maha Sarakham to prevent bird flu pandemic

Interior Minister Kongsak Wanthana visited the province of Maha Sarakham, to follow up on the implemented ministerial policies and remind the local chiefs to increase the measures in preventing and solving the bird flu outbreak.

Air Chief Marshal Kongsak presided over the opening of the new district office in Muang District of Maha Sarakham Province. During the presiding, he said the new office will be the center in developing the local economy and society. It will help coordinate with other provincial administrative agencies in helping out the troubled residents promptly.

The Interior Minister has reinstructed the officials to continue preventing the bird flu virus from spreading. He said poultries are forbidden to be transferred to different locations without approval. In addition, he said the officials have to continuously follow up on the possible natural disasters with the Meteorological Department and other provinces so that they can provide prompt warnings to members of the public.

The Interior Minister later visited one of the twelve Sufficiency Economy villages of Maha Sarakham Province, namely Ban Na Fai Village.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 August 2006

[sriracha john]

When quickly reading the above article, I actually thought I saw this version of the headline... which would likely go a long way in solving the bird flu crisis

Interior Minister orders officials in Maha Sarakham to be culled to prevent bird flu pandemic

[Jai Dee]

Yala Public Health Office urges officials to observe signs of bird flu in the province

Yala (ยะลา) Public Health Office has urged authorities to visit areas to observe the possible spread of bird flu pandemic.

Yala Public Health officer Marut Jirasethsiri (มรุต จิระเศรษฐสิริ) has ordered officials to specifically inspect the animals in areas where the bird flu outbreak had occurred earlier. He instructed them to assign volunteers, who are closer with the local people, to help observe the situation first. However, officials have been assigned to take care of Muang (เมือง) and Betong (เบตง) districts during the initial stage.

In the meantime, people have been warned to only consume cooked chickens, to avoid possible bird-flu contraction.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 August 2006

[sriracha john]

In the meantime, people have been warned to only consume cooked chickens, to avoid possible bird-flu contraction.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 August 2006

Yes. Sound advice. The other danger from the consumption of live or freshly-killed uncooked chickens is the danger of damage to the esophagus from their feathers.

[plachon]

When quickly reading the above article, I actually thought I saw this version of the headline... which would likely go a long way in solving the bird flu crisis

Interior Minister orders officials in Maha Sarakham to be culled to prevent bird flu pandemic

Sound advice John, but it's not the local officials that need culling, but their superiors who think up these crazy schemes or order bad news censored.

[sriracha john]

When quickly reading the above article, I actually thought I saw this version of the headline... which would likely go a long way in solving the bird flu crisis

Interior Minister orders officials in Maha Sarakham to be culled to prevent bird flu pandemic

Sound advice John, but it's not the local officials that need culling, but their superiors who think up these crazy schemes or order bad news censored.

of course, you're right, plachon...

particularly in light of today's news:

Thailand confirms 16th bird flu death

[sriracha john]

BIRD FLU

Chicken sales drop as virus spreads

Stay of execution for fowl, but plans for more mass culling to go ahead if necessary

More poultry deaths occurred in Uthai Thani yesterday, the province where the bird-flu outbreak claimed another human victim last week, as vendors reported a plunge in the sale of chicken meat.

After culling all the chickens raised in the 27-year-old victim's backyard, livestock authorities in Uthai Thani yesterday received a report saying another 200 chickens had died in the province.

The man was the 16th person to die from avian flu in Thailand and the second fatality in the latest outbreak of the virus.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said she had ordered the culling of 20,000 remaining chickens at a farm in the province's Muang district that is suspected to be infected.

However, each district in Uthai Thani has been ordered to form culling teams in case they are needed, she said.

Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat, who led a team of health officials to Uthai Thani yesterday, said another man in the province patient, aged 19, was showing symptoms similar to those of bird flu.

He is being kept under observation at the provincial hospital.

Pinij said the man had worked at a poultry farm in the province where many of the approximately 20,000 fowl being reared had begun to die at the end of last month.

He said the man was reported to have been handling dead chickens without proper protection before he fell ill on Thursday.

Doctors said he was in stable condition and was being treated with the anti-viral drug oseltamivir. They are still waiting for laboratory tests to confirm that he has contracted the H5N1 strain.

Dr Thawat Suntrajarn, director-general of the Centre for Disease Control, said another 80 people in Uthai Thani have been put under observation for signs of bird flu.

Most of these people were healthcare workers who had treated the latest victim of bird flu before he died last Thursday, and the remaining six lived in the same community as the victim. All of them have been given oseltamivir and showed no signs of illness, he said.

Meanwhile, Samut Prakan province reported that a 25-year-old woman worker from Nakhon Sawan had shown symptoms resembling those of bird flu.

The woman lived and worked at a construction site in Bang Phli district, but had reportedly been in contact with sick chickens in Nakhon Sawan.

Meanwhile, poultry meat vendors in one of the largest fresh markets in Bangkok said sales had been sliding since the first case of human bird flu was announced last month.

Sayan Chalongbhak, a chicken wholesaler, said sales had plunged between 20 and 50 per cent since then.

She managed to sell only 1,300 chickens a day during the period of the Chinese All Souls Day celebrations, unlike last year when she usually sold 2,000 chickens a day, she said.

Another vendor, Prapha Saithong, said people had turned to eating pork instead.

The Nation

Edited August 7, 2006 by sriracha john