January 23, 2004

 

 

Thai Senator Accuse Officials Of Bird-Flu Cover Up

 

Bird flu fears swept Thailand on Thursday after a high-profile senator claimed that a seriously ill boy was confirmed as its first human case and suggested a cover-up, partly to save the country's multibillion dollar chicken export sector.

 

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said, however, that it would be days before lab tests could show whether the 7-year-old child was a victim of the virus that has killed five people in Vietnam and millions of poultry across Asia.

 

For days Thaksin's government had dismissed claims by farmers that bird flu had infiltrated Thailand, though thousands of sick chickens have dropped dead in recent weeks. The public health minister denied any cover-up.

 

Politicians outside the government urged it to be upfront about the boy's case, saying Thailand shouldn't follow the example of China, which disastrously tried to hide details about SARS, leading to a global health crisis last year.

 

Worried by the confusion, Japan - a major market -announced an immediate ban on Thai chicken imports. Thailand is among the world's top five poultry exporters and stocks in its multibillion-dollar industry dived as much as 7.1% on Bangkok's Stock Exchange.

 

"If we find this disease in Thailand, the chicken industry in Thailand will collapse immediately," said Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob while visiting a farm in Suphanburi province. "We would lose more than a hundred billion baht ($1=THB39.038) immediately."

 

Sen. Nirun Phitakwatchara, a longtime critic of Thaksin, stirred up fears when he announced that a boy in central Suphanburi province had tested positive for bird flu, and he accused officials of trying to hide the outbreak "for business and political reasons."

 

In response, Thaksin said no case had been confirmed in Thailand and that "we need one or two days for the results from the lab."

 

"At this moment, we cannot say yes, there is bird flu here," the prime minister told reporters. "But if we find bird flu later, people don't need to panic because this virus isn't contracted from human to human, only by those who touch chickens with the virus."

 

A doctor at the hospital where the boy was being treated for severe pneumonia said the bird-flu claim couldn't be ruled out or confirmed until test result were released.

 

"The patient has got a virus, not bacteria," the physician told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. "But I cannot say for sure that it is the bird flu virus."

 

His twin brother meanwhile was also admitted to hospital after he showed a mild fever on Wednesday, and was being kept for observation after an X-ray showed some mild swelling of his lungs, said a statement from the Public Health Ministry.

 

Two other people were also being tested for bird flu.

 

Another senator, Wallop Thangananurak, said while it was unclear whether Thailand had a case of human bird flu, the government shouldn't try to hide the truth from the public.

"For example, the Chinese tried to cover up the SARS outbreak last year, which had consequences and pressure from the world community," he said. "It's the government's job to inform the public without making them panic."

 

Health experts believe humans have contracted the virus only through direct contact with sick birds, not through human contact, and also say they believe there is no danger from eating the properly cooked meat of sick birds.

 

Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphun said earlier that "the ministry has no intention of covering up any bird flu case ... but up until now, I insist they are only suspected cases and the lab tests are underway. We will know the results in a couple of days."

 

Sudarat urged the public not to panic if cases of bird flu are found in Thailand, saying her ministry "has prepared measures to control the spread of the virus." She did not elaborate.

 

Minister Newin said earlier that up to 6 million chickens had been destroyed in the central provinces of Nakorn Sawan and Chachoengsao. Officials say many were infected with bird cholera and respiratory diseases other than bird flu.