Thailand 7/30 - 8/01

[Theresa42]

3 susp bf cases in Nakhon Phanom test neg / 2 others under obsv & treated w/Tamiflu?

Machine-translated from Thai:

Ministry of Public Health - orders watch/guard careful bird flu nationwide while [3] persons suspected result examine indicate not infected
โดย ผู้จัดการออนไลน์ 31 กรกฎาคม 2549 15:20 น.

Mr. [name] be in charge minister administer Ministry of Public Health disclose later meet executive ministry that can urge executive and people observe/comply with every level together perform one's duty thoroughly 24 hours because shall never stop or day government service as for in area province Nakhon Phanom which find infected with bird flu in chickens yesterday can down area go meet cooperate provincial governor which find that there is person contact chicken directly and there is person to be in [?] place there is chicken die total 765. Person which will must watch/guard carefully symptoms 14 days at present there is 2 persons place affect check Beua [?] Dton [?] infect with influenza because doctor give a prescription resist virus [Tamiflu?] and then and today can send car [?] from Dept. of Medical Sciences 1 at the same time person be skilled from Dept. of Medical Services 2 person go check place hospital Nakhon Phanom expect that will arrive late afternoon this and start work can immediately.

Field doctor [name] director-general Dept. of Medical Science disclose result examine prove virus patient suspected is bird flu 3 cases from province Nakhon Pathom appear that result is negative not infected with bird flu.

http://www.manager.co.th/Home/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9490000097475&Keyword=%e4%a2%e9%cb%c7%d1%b4%b9%a1

[Christian Rivers]

Re: Thailand 7/30

Maybe we can get one of the other docs to comment here. I don't know the details on Avian influenza, but in general, if a physician starts an antibiotic or antiviral 24 hours or more prior to obtaining samples then they can inadvertently suppress detection of the offending organism. I did see reference in a earlier post on this thread where the Health Minister was keen to see that clinical specimens were obtained prior to starting the antiviral drugs. In these situations, the serological data will be helpful. Good news for the patients is that Tamiflu is targeted for seasonal flu.
Also note the criteria for testing for avian influenza in the US is basically the presence of severe flu symptoms and travel to a country where avian influenza is endemic in birds (eg as the Carrollton Texas patient). By that criteria, it would seem that every patient in Thailand with servere flu-like symptoms would be a suspect case and get tested. That will be a lot of tests.
For some perspective, it is not unusual in the US to put patients on respiratory isolation for a couple of days to rule out TB. In over 9 out of 10 cases we do rule out TB. If we find TB, then we activate a case finding process. That is the basic public health infrastrucutre. The more recent press releases from Thailand are more assurring they have those processes in place.
CR

[Theresa42]

2 susp bf cases in Kanchanaburi test neg / awaiting tests on 13M from Kanchanaburi

Machine-translated from Thai:

Reveal person suspected bird flu place Gaa [?] (กา ญจน์) have a fever test normally
โดย ผู้จัดการออนไลน์ 31 กรกฎาคม 2549 13:52 น.

Kanchanaburi - Public health Kanchanaburi reveal result examine patient suspected bird flu 2 cases place "Pa Nom Tuan - Ta Rai [?]" find is only have a cold normal at the same time can join with every side destroy chicken side go and then more than 100 bodies.

Today (31 July) doctor [name] doctor public health province Kanchanaburi talk about situation bird flu in area province Kanchanaburi that result examine patient suspected 2 cases from district Pa Nom Tuan and district Ta Rai (ไทร โยค) find that is only have a cold normal as for patient male age 13 year from district Meuang Kanchanaburi can send virus go verify place center region West already.

For measure watch/guard carefully that by public health province can cooperate livestock province [?] and Fish Marketing Organization (FMO) all 13 districts go out work foot in ask search for sick persons and have a physical examination specially patient that contact with poultry at the same time can destroy poultry go and then more 100 bodies and as long as can send virus go prove poultry that die majority succeed die because infected with disease another and be correct apply a remedy die also have no result come out that succeed infected with bird flu anyhow.

http://www.manager.co.th/Local/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9490000097403&Keyword=%e4%a2%e9%cb%c7%d1%b4%b9%a1

[Theresa42]

Ministry of Health - 45 additional persons put under bf observation

Also, no other positives besided the 17 year-old from Phichit that died the other day. 3 individuals from Nakhon Phanom and 11 month-old from Phichit apparently tested neg. Border controls being implemented.

Machine-translated from Thai:

Find person suspected bird flu increase more 45 persons (19.45 o'clock)
วันจันทร์ที่ 31 กรกฎาคม 2549

Mr. [name] minister administer Ministry of Public Health call meet director-general and person be skilled bird flu disclose at present there is patient suspected bird flu to be at 131 cases many most in province Phichit, Sukhothai and Phitsanulok which in 24 hour preceding find persons suspected 45 cases from 10 provinces but also not find patient infected with bird flu H5N1 increase from case place lose life province Phichit.

For result examine patient suspected bird flu place province Nakhon Phanom 3 persons and child age 11 months place province Phichit that not infected with bird flu.

[Name] minister administer Ministry of Agriculture disclose that in today go out announce ministry land 2 issue is announce measure control/limit according to way border country neighbor forbid import poultry produce [?] and equipment or container that use in shipping about poultry and announce control/limit epidemic in poultry person that find poultry sick die unusual must inform authority that concern urgently person that destroy chicken will receive compensation person that not inform authority will cannot receive compensation and will must be fined bringing carcass go toss away water must be guilty also.

Then will arrange 30 provinces location contact with border is zone watch/guard carefully but no area red.

Field Air Chief Marshall may [?] minister administer Ministry of Interior meet provincial governor nationwide pass over [?] long distance because repeat check/patrol deep province place there is area contact with country neighbor because can command increase measure spray disinfectant automobile place pass enter - go out but also not too must close barrier frontier temporarily or forbid there is contact trade among one another.

http://www.ch7.com/news7ch_news_temp_news1.php?NewsID=79034

[Siamese]

Re: Ministry of Health - 45 additional persons put under bf observation

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>Bird-flu alert for entire country

Tuesday Aug 1/06

The Nation

"As the number of suspected bird-flu cases increases nationwide, Caretaker Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan yesterday declared all 76 provinces of the country animal epidemic control areas, with stricter rules on the transport of poultry and handling of dead birds.

The move follows the mass culling of 300,000 chickens at 78 farms in Nakhon Phanom province on the weekend.

The Public Health Ministry is closely monitoring 765 people who took part in the slaughtering, fearing they might have been exposed to the potentially deadly bird-flu virus.

Caretaker Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat said all 633 people involved in the culling, plus 111 farm workers, 18 people in the families that operated the farms and three other villagers were put on the provincial bird-flu watch list.

The minister was speaking during a trip to Na Klang district in the north-eastern province where the H5N1 virus was detected.

All 765 people on the list would be monitored for 14 days.

So far, six people had developed a high fever, Pinij said. Two of them had influenza symptoms and had received oseltamivir, the only anti-viral drug that can be used to treat people infected with H5N1. The other four had tested negative for the influenza virus.

He said surveillance and disinfecting in the province had to be stepped up.

The Medical Science Department yesterday sent a mobile laboratory unit to the Nakhon Phanom provincial hospital to conduct further tests on suspected cases.

Pinij ordered the province's public health office to set up a bird-flu advisory team to assist and give advice to community hospitals on how to detect the H5N1 virus in humans and on the appropriate use of oseltamivir. Besides Nakhon Phanom's Naklang sub-district, there were 45 suspected cases of human infection in 10 provinces, said Pratch Boonyawongwiroj, permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry.

Fifteen cases were in Sukhothai, eight in Phitsanulok, seven in Suphan Buri, six in Phrae, three in other districts of Nakhon Phanom, and two in Phetchabun. Nakhon Nayok, Uttaradit and Phichit reported one case each.

Pratch said there were no other confirmed cases in Phichit besides that of a 17-year-old boy who died late last month.

Meanwhile, the Department of Livestock Development (DLD) yesterday blamed a "neighbouring country" as the source of the bird-flu outbreak in Nakhon Phanom.

Yukol Limlamthong, the DLD's director general, said his inquiries had found the H5N1 virus entered chicken farms in Nakhon Phanom via egg trays farm workers took from their customers on "the other side" [of the Mekong River].

The province is located on the bank of the Mekong River which forms a natural border between Thailand and Laos. The Lao government last week admitted that much of its poultry population had been infected with the bird-flu virus. Sudarat yesterday banned the import of all chicken-farm accessories (including egg trays) from neighbouring countries. She said the outbreak in the province had been contained.

Yukol insisted the H5N1 virus had only been detected in Phichit's Bang Moon Nak district and Nakhon Phanom's Na Klang sub-district, despite reports of chickens dying of suspicious causes in other provinces. The first human bird-flu victim this year died in Phichit's Tap Klo district.

"I am also wondering why there are confirmed human cases in areas where the virus is not found in poultry. Medical doctors have to investigate," he said in a telephone interview.

Under the Agriculture Ministry's latest epidemic control measures, anyone found transporting birds illegally, dumping poultry carcasses in natural waterways or burying dead poultry without informing livestock officials would face a fine or jail.

http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/08/01/headlines/headlines_30010082.php
_________________</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Reeves]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

131 suspected bird flu cases awaiting tests
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=111917

Thailand's Public Health Ministry said Monday that the country now has 131 suspected bird flu cases under surveillance, waiting for lab test results to determine whether they have contracted the bird flu virus.

Department of Disease Control Director General Thawat Suntrajarn said that since the beginning of this year, there have been 1,960 suspected cases of bird flu, with 1,828 cases testing negative to the disease.

The 131 cases are waiting for the lab test results. Of these, the highest number is 37 cases in the northern province of Phichit, followed by 35 and 16 cases in neighbouring Sukhothai and Phitsanulok Provinces and 12 cases in the central province of Suphanburi.

After meeting public health officials, Public Health Minister Pinij Jarusombat said he had ordered medical specialists and senior officials to be on alert around the clock to control bird flu, dengue fever and hand, foot and mouth syndrome.

He also said that 765 persons in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom had been monitored for two weeks after having come into contact with diseased chickens.

As many as 300,000 fowls were culled on Sunday in the province, where a bird-flu outbreak was detected with the H5N1 virus.

The bird-flu virus killed a teenage boy in Phichit last week.

Two mobile labs were sent to Phichit and Nakhon Phanom on Monday and 20 specialist teams visited "red zone" areas in the affected provinces to give 24-hour advice to local health officials. (TNA)

[Commonground]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

Siam, on the same lines that you pointed out in article Post #35:

The first human bird-flu victim this year died in Phichit's Tap Klo district.

Last I knew, there was only 1 confirmed case.

[Siamese]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

Yes, I know that, that is why I posted it. There must be information that is not coming out, for public knowledge. Maybe it has mutated and is not killing??

[Commonground]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

Siam, my intuition is telling me something is not right in Thailand (and probably other places too - Indo, Africa.....). Maybe it's because they are so concerned? Maybe it's the fact that H5N1 is an epidemic in their poultry? They just seem like they are frightened, over-reacting, I don't know. Something isn't sitting right with me.

[Sharpe]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

There is something CLEARLY wrong about this strain of bird flu. Hndreds of millions of chickens have died in other places before, but never have this number of people become sick this fast over this widespread an area. If you have been on the fence regarding preparing for a pandemic until now, it is time to move. These things are unpredictable, and can change very quickly.

[Commonground]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

Thank you , for some reason, your words reassured me. So it's uncommon for the seasonal flu to spread this rapidly in all the provinces and to affect this many people. I didn't know that. Thank you.

[tsalagiT]

Re: Ministry of Health - 45 additional persons put under bf observation

Siam at #35:

"I am also wondering why there are confirmed human cases in areas where the virus is not found in poultry. Medical doctors have to investigate," he said in a telephone interview.

Siam.....is this YOUR own personal statement....or a quote in the article? if this isn't yours.....this official is saying that there have been "confirmed human cases", as in plural confirmed. Which is more than just the one we've been told about, the 17yo male who also died. then he goes on to say it's happening in an area where poultry does NOT have the virus? This isn't sounding good at all.....in fact.... !!!! Maybe he's still trying to protect the poultry market by saying the birds are fine. Personally, I can see them later making a h-b report for a change, to cover up the fact they are not reporting the sick poultry. (it'd be the first h-b report that i know of) Worse case senario....we've got h-h going on. my gut says it is....and alot of it. what a mess.

[Commonground]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

tsalagit, these are not Siams words. He just highlighted the sentences in red.

[Siamese]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

Tsalagit, these are not my words. They are in the article, and that is why I posted it.

[tsalagiT]

Re: Thailand 7/30 &amp; 7/31

Well.....we're screwed. I doubt if even WHO can pull something out of their *** to fix this one. Sorry guys...I'm really po'd how this has been handled and covered up. I knew it was crap when they started spoutin about all the blood tests coming back negitive, which don't mean nothin. And i really doubt we have any idea how the numbers have been fudged.

I just got back from checking the 'other' site. I like the suggestion there that they be held accountable for all their crap and if this goes full steam now, that they be tried on grounds of crimes against humanity. Whoever's left afterward to take to trial anyway. The rest of the world is gonna pay for their **** games.

As Vaffie, said earlier. If you haven't prepped, get your arse's goin NOW.

God help us.