September 18, 2006

Thailand's political crisis may hurt bird flu response

Thailand's continuing political crisis may have contributed to a resurgence of bird flu in the country, Dr David Nabarro, The United Nations senior coordinator for bird flu said in an interview with the Financial Times Monday (Sep 18).

Dr Nabarro said he was concerned the political crisis in Thailand might have weakened the country's response to the virus. It remained unclear how or why the H5N1 virus resurfaced in a Thai province along the Mekong River border with Laos in July and August, he said, according to the report.

"You don't maintain control over this disease unless there is regular top-level direction from a committed senior political figure that wants to be sure that the necessary activities are being undertaken," Nabarro said, according to the report.

Thailand has had no working legislature and only a caretaker government under Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra since he dissolved Parliament in February to call April polls, which were later invalidated. He called the election three years ahead of schedule in a bid to defuse protests calling for him to step down because of alleged corruption and abuse of power.