Thailand Finds Bird Flu In Dog For The First Time

[george]

Thailand finds bird flu in dog for the first time

BANGKOK : Asia's deadly bird flu has been found in a dog for the first time in Thailand, authorities said on Sunday.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Nittaya Chanruangmahaphol told Reuters that the H5N1 virus was discovered in a dog in the southeastern province of Prachinburi, where previous cases had been found in humans and poultry.

"We have found that a dog was infected by the H5N1 virus," she said, adding the case was confirmed by laboratory tests conducted at two Thai universities.

She gave no further details, but Thai newspapers reported on Sunday that the dog was still alive.

Thailand reported its first probable case of human transmission of bird flu last week.

A campaign ordered by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to wipe out the virus by the end of October started last week.

So far, 92 areas in 28 provinces are under bird flu watch, of which 50 areas were confirmed to have been hit by the virus, Livestock Department officials say.

Dutch researchers reported last month that cats can get the avian influenza virus, which means pets are at risk of getting and spreading the disease.

--Channel News Asia 2004-10-03

[britmaveric]

Crap there goes our Soi Dogs!

[stumonster]

Thai girl has bird flu

From correspondents in Bangkok

October 03, 2004

A 9-year-old girl in northern Thailand has tested positive for bird flu, becoming the most recent person to be infected by the virus since it resurfaced in South-East Asia in July, a health ministry official said today.

Kanda Srilueng-On, who is in critical condition, is believed to have contracted the disease from infected birds, said Deputy Public Health Minister Anuthin Chanveerakul.

She was hospitalised in Phetchabun province on September 30 with flu-like symptoms, and test results today showed she has the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, he said.

Thailand went on high alert last week after it reported that an earlier bird flu victim died after probably contracting the virus from her daughter, in the first likely case of human-to-human transmission in the country.

Ten people have died of bird flu in Thailand and 20 in Vietnam this year. More than 100 million chickens and poultry have died or been culled since the disease spread across large swaths of Asia early this year.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/commo...55E1702,00.html

or here

better hurry up fellas, only 28 days to go...

[DJ Pat]

Best stay away from soi dogs eh..

[stumonster]

Girl 11th bird flu fatality

From correspondents in Bangkok

October 04, 2004

AN eight-year-old girl has died of bird flu in northern Thailand, becoming the country's 11th confirmed victim of the lethal virus this year, a health ministry official said today.

"She died around 9:00pm (2300 AEST yesterday)," ministry spokeswoman Nitaya Chanruang Mahabhol told AFP.

The girl, from Phetchabun province, was the third Thai to die during a new wave of outbreaks that started in July.

At least 19 people have also died of bird flu in Vietnam since December last year and millions of birds have died or been culled across Asia.

The girl, who was not named by officials, was taken to hospital with a fever last week after eight of the family's chickens died and was confirmed Sunday as having the lethal H5N1 form of the virus.

The girl lived in a poorly ventilated one-storey house and helped pluck chickens after her grandmother culled them, according to a health ministry statement last night.

"Friends discouraged her without any success," it said. One thousand chickens in the village were due to be culled late yesterday.

Thailand on Friday launched a "war on bird flu" with more than 900,000 volunteers carrying out house-to-house checks for signs of the disease.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has announced a goal of eradicating the disease from Thailand by October 31 and thousands scoured outlying villages and poor areas of Bangkok for sick birds and humans.

Bird flu outbreaks have affected 35 of Thailand's 76 provinces since the start of July to October 1, according to government figures.

Both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Thai agriculture minister said the deadline would probably not be met but said the effort signalled Thailand's intention to address the issue vigorously.

The health ministry has sent bird flu testing kits and anti-virus drugs to 700 hospitals across the country to cope with a potential outbreak among humans.

Thailand, one of the world's largest poultry exporters before the bird flu crisis hit, also said it would overhaul its system of farming to try to prevent future crises.

Officials last week confirmed its first probable case of human-to-human infection of bird flu following the deaths of a mother and daughter.

Tests are still continuing to try to confirm that the girl had flu - she was cremated before full tests could be carried out - and to discover if the disease had mutated into a more contagious and lethal form that could trigger a wider health crisis.

A mutated bird flu outbreak was blamed for the deaths of as many as 40 million people worldwide in 1918. Thai health officials said early indications were that the strain had not changed much.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/commo...55E1702,00.html

or here

[Darth Bangkok]

do we have to stop eating pork yet? Pigs keep getting mentioned in these stories. soon I will be on a fruit only diet!

[sriracha john]

do we have to stop eating pork yet? Pigs keep getting mentioned in these stories. soon I will be on a fruit only diet!

It's already been found in pigs from Prachinburi among other places. Potentially, bird flu could be in any poultry (duck, chicken, eggs) or pork products. Sadly, yet another young girl died yesterday from bird flu.

Where's the govt. in all of this??