February 5, 2004

 

 

Two More Suspected Human Bird Flu Cases in Thailand

 

Thailand today reported two more suspected human bird flu cases. The public health ministry said the two new cases were a two-year-old boy from northeastern Khon Kaen province who was being treated in hospital there and a 67-year-old man from central Chainat who was transferred to Bangkok.

 

"These two new suspected cases have had direct contact with chickens," said government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair.

 

Thailand's toll from bird flu now stands at five confirmed deaths and 19 suspected cases including nine fatalities. The latest confirmed death was a six-year-old boy who passed away on Wednesday.

 

Jakropob said the government was confident it had managed to contain bird flu despite the emergence of the new cases and more suspected outbreaks among chickens.

 

"The government is satisfied with the containment of the outbreak which has reduced in its degree of seriousness. By Friday the goverment will declare the end of the contaiment peroid and move to the rehabilitation stage," he told reporters.

 

Disease Control Department chief Charal Trinvuthipong said he was also optimistic that the number of bird flu infections in humans would decline because there had been few new cases in the last week.

 

"It's likely that the number of patients will fall as most of the deaths and the suspect cases contracted the disease before January 27," he said.

 

Health authorities on Thursday reported five new cases of bird flu in poultry in five provinces including a district of the capital Bangkok.

 

Thailand has so far announced 162 cases of bird flu in 40 of the 76 provinces but there are only 10 "red spots" or active outbreaks still in the process of being contained.

 

Jakrapob said that so far 25.9 million chickens have been culled from 40,043 farms.

 

Experts believe the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu is transmitted to humans through contact with sick birds or their droppings, although two cases in Vietnam are being investigated as possible cases of human-to-human transmission.