August 18, 2006

FAO: Smuggled poultry suspected to cause bird flu in Thailand, Laos

A Chinese strain of bird flu never seen before in Thailand or Laos has been partly responsible for recent flare-ups in those countries with smuggled poultry likely to blame, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Thursday (Aug 17).

The new strain, the same found in southern China, was confirmed in poultry outbreaks that occurred last month in the north-eastern Thai province of Nakhon Phanom and the Laotian capital of Vientiane, the FAO in Bangkok said in a statement.

"We are aware that there is a lot of trade still going on, mainly smuggling, of course, of chicken and poultry products," said Diderik de Vleeschauwer, FAO spokesman in Bangkok. "The movement and trade of animals and poultry products is the main reason for the spreading of disease."

He added that migratory birds are not to blame because they are not on the move in South-east Asia this time of year. The strain also is unique to southern China and had not previously been found elsewhere, de Vleeschauwer said.

The samples have been sent to an international reference laboratory in Australia for further analysis. FAO also warned countries in the region to step up awareness and surveillance as more outbreaks surface in other countries.

"Continuing outbreaks in China, recurrence in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, and the steady march of the disease in Indonesia, underline the need for heightened vigilance in other Asian countries," He Changchui, FAO's regional representative for the Asia-Pacific, said in a statement.

Bird flu reemerged in Thailand last month for the first time this year, and Laos reported its first outbreak in more than two years.