January 23, 2004

 

 

Three Tested For Bird Flu As Thailand Still Denies Virus

 

Three sick people were tested for bird flu in Thailand on Wednesday and millions of chickens were being killed to stop the spread of fowl diseases that the government claimed weren't related to a deadly avian illness plaguing other Asian nations.

 

Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob said there has been an outbreak of fowl cholera and bacterial respiratory disease - but reiterated government claims that Thailand has no bird flu, which has killed five people in Vietnam.

 

But the official assurances, including a well-publicized Tuesday Cabinet meeting lunch of chicken dishes, has failed to quell public unease, and sales of the bird's meat have plunged.

 

Rumors that the government was to announce a case of a human with bird flu circulated Wednesday at the Thai stock market, contributing to an overall fall in share prices.

 

Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan announced late in the day that three people in central Thailand with pneumonia-like symptoms are being tested for bird flu, also known as avian influenza.

 

She told reporters her ministry is monitoring the condition of three hospital patients in Nakhon Sawan, Suphanburi and Kanchanaburi provinces.

 

"The laboratory is testing their samples, and we expect to know whether they have a virus or a bacterial disease," she said. "This does not mean that they've got bird flu, but that the ministry is checking their samples as a precaution."

 

A ministry news release said test results were expected in two to three days.

 

The condition of the patient in Nakhon Sawan, a chicken butcher diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia, has improved, and the infection in his lungs has decreased, it said.

 

Sudarat said that the Suphanburi patient, a 7-year-old boy who lives near a chicken farm, was in critical condition. Information on the third case wasn't immediately available.

 

Newin said 1 million chickens have been killed and authorities plan to slaughter millions more.

 

He said one reason for killing the birds was that authorities fear farmers will feed them banned antibiotics to keep them disease-free.

 

Use of the drugs could threaten Thailand's lucrative chicken exports because the European Union, a major customer, bans poultry with any traces of certain antibiotics believed to be dangerous for human consumption.

 

Last year, Thailand, one of the world's top five chicken exporters, shipped 540,000 metric tons of chicken valued at around 50 billion baht ($1=THB38.80), according to the Thai Broilers Processing Exporters Association.

 

It had targeted 630,000 metric tons (693,000 short tons) worth THB70 billion this year.