November 11, 2004

Tests Reveal Bird Flu Virus Survives Longer in Winter

The Public Health Ministry's Department of Disease Control in Thailand has issued a warning that the bird-flu virus may live much longer in damp chicken droppings during the winter months.

The virus' life cycle can last up to 40 days in damp droppings if temperatures fall to around four degrees celsius, according to Kasetsart University lab tests.

During most months, the virus generally lives up to only three hours when the country's average temperature ranges from 30 to 37 degrees.

"The lab tests show that the threat of bird flu is greater as the weather gets cooler," Dr Thawat Suntrajarn, director-general of the Disease Control Department, revealed.

He advised chicken farmers, especially those who keep birds in their yards, to clear droppings regularly.

The cold weather provides a suitable environment for the avian flu to breed. Hence closer monitoring is needed in order to prevent the spread of the disease in winter.

Uncooked chicken meat also habours the virus, cautioned Dr. Thawat. People should refrain from touching raw chicken meat or frozen chickens.