Thailand Confirms More Bird Flu Cases

Thailand confirmed more recurrences of the deadly bird flu virus on several farms in two northern provinces Saturday, just days after fresh outbreaks near Bangkok.

Thailand confirmed more recurrences of the deadly bird flu virus on several farms in two northern provinces Saturday, just days after fresh outbreaks near Bangkok.”Bird flu is confirmed in both places and we have already told OIE,” said Yukol Limlaemthong, head of the Agriculture Ministry’s livestock department, referring to the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.Agriculture and Cooperatives minister Somsak Thepsuthin told reporters that around 200 chickens had died on each of several farms in the northern provinces of Uttaradit and Sukothai, but did not say how many farms were hit.Another 1,000 chickens had been killed in an attempt to contain the outbreaks, he said.Chicken deaths on small farms in the northeastern province of Mukdahan were also being investigated as possible bird flu infections and the results would be known within the next two days, Yukol said.Thailand said last week it had found two new outbreaks of the H5N1 bird flu virus in the central provinces of Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok.The virus has also reappeared in China and both countries have blamed wild fowl thought to be responsible for spreading an epidemic through much of Asia earlier this year.The virus, which first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997, proved capable of jumping species to infect humans who came into close contact with infected fowl.Eight Thais and 16 Vietnamese died of the virus in the epidemic, which raised fears that H5N1 might mutate into a form which could be transmitted from person to person and set off a global pandemic. (Source: Reuters, July 2004)