February 13, 2004

Thailand Confirms Three New Bird Flu Cases

Thailand has confirmed three more cases of bird flu in humans, bringing the total number of people infected by the virus to eight, the health minister said Thursday.

A one-year-old boy from central Suphanburi province and a 27-year-old woman from northern Uttaradit province were found to have avian influenza, but have recovered, Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan told reporters.

An unidentified 13-year-old boy in intensive care at a hospital in northeastern Chaiyaphum province also tested positive for the disease, which has ravaged poultry farms across Asia, officials said. The boy had been on a list of suspected cases.

The virus has killed four children and one adult in Thailand, and is suspected of having sickened 21 other people, nine of whom have died.

Fourteen people have also died of bird flu in Vietnam.

Bird flu has been found in poultry in 40 of Thailand's 76 provinces, and authorities have culled more than 26 million birds in an effort to control the outbreak. They say it is now under control in all areas except one part of the capital, Bangkok.

Avian influenza has been found in 10 Asian nations and the United States. Asian authorities have slaughtered tens of millions of chickens and ducks in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. The disease has jumped to people only in Thailand and Vietnam.