New cases dash Thai hopes of bird flu all-clear

BANGKOK - Thailand's hopes to declare itself free of the bird flu virus were dashed again yesterday after fresh outbreaks were detected in two provinces.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob told reporters cases had been found in Chonburi and Khon Kaen.

'The (areas) were put on surveillance, and if there are no new findings, I expect we could declare ourselves bird-flu free on April 27,' he said.

Chonburi is south-east of Bangkok, while Khon Kaen is in the heart of the country's north-east.

Both had recorded outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza earlier in the year when the disease swept through the country, eventually killing eight people.

Agriculture officials detected the latest bird flu outbreaks in Chonburi on April 7 and in Khon Kean on March 25. Both provinces were now on a mandatory 21-day monitoring period, Mr Newin said.

Thailand slaughtered 36 million birds, mainly chickens, and imposed quarantine regulations on affected zones in an effort to halt the spread of the disease, which hit 41 of its 76 provinces.

The kingdom has reported 12 bird flu infections in humans, including four people who made a full recovery.

The disease had also swept through nine other countries in Asia and killed 15 people in Vietnam.

Mr Newin vowed Thailand would rid itself of the virus. But he gave an assurance that the government would not prematurely announce it was in the clear.

'I cannot exactly say if we will be able to declare ourselves bird-flu free by April, as we have to be objective. If any new disease is detected, we have to publicise it.'

-- AFP 2004-04-10

Good to see the boys at the AgMin are going out of their way to keep Joe/Somchai Public up to date and in the picture with bird flu. The Khon Kaen case was IDed on March 25th and they only just told us? Ta much Newin! Nothing like being a pro-active, tireless worker for the good of the country.

Not that it matters a jot now that the press have lost interest in this story, but thanks George for keeping (some of us) up to date on this lurking menace. Somebody in the AgMin is going to get a very nasty shock one of these days when this virus mutates and jumps the species gap big time. It's a time bomb.