Thailand confirms new bird flu death, report Sept/26/06

[Theresa42]

Thailand confirms new bird flu death
Sept 26, 2006

A 59-year-old man has died of bird flu in northeastern Thailand, bringing the death toll in the country from the deadly H5N1 virus this year to three, a public health ministry official said Tuesday.

"He died on August 10 at hospital in the northeastern province of Nong Bua Lam Phu and the laboratory test just confirmed the H5N1 virus," the official said.

Thailand is among the countries hardest hit by the deadly H5N1 virus, recording 25 human cases, 17 of them fatal, since the outbreak began here in 2004.

Agence France-Presse

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30014671

[Laidback Al]

Re: Thailand confirms new bird flu death

With the recent coup and the crackdown on media, I am surprised this managed to be reported.

[Theresa42]

Re: Thailand confirms new bird flu death

Thai man dies of bird flu, official says
26 Sep 2006 01:43:39 GMT
Source: Reuters

BANGKOK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A 59-year-old Thai man has died of bird flu, the country's 17th victim of the H5N1 virus since it swept through much of Asia in late 2003, a senior Health Ministry official said.

The man died on Aug. 10 in a northeastern province near the Lao border after chickens at his house fell sick and died, Kamnuan Ungchusak told Reuters.

He said the final laboratory tests were completed only last week.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK301031.htm

[Theresa42]

Re: Thailand confirms new bird flu death

(AFX UK Focus) 2006-09-26 04:33 GMT:
Thailand confirms new bird flu death - UPDATE

BANGKOK (XFN-ASIA) - A 59-year-old farmer has died of bird flu in northeastern Thailand, bringing the death toll in the country from the deadly H5N1 virus this year to three, public health officials said.

Kumnuan Ungchusak, director of the public health ministry's epidemiology bureau, said the victim fell sick in mid-July and died on Aug 10 in Nong Bua Lam Phu, some 580 kilometers northeast of Bangkok.

"There were sick chickens at his house," the director said.

Another health ministry official also said a laboratory test had confirmed the man died of the H5N1 virus, adding: "He was believed to have been in contact with sick chickens."

Thailand is among the countries hardest hit by the deadly H5N1 virus, recording 25 human cases, 17 of them fatal, since the outbreak began here in 2004.

The latest bird flu fatality followed the death in July of a 27-year-old farmer in the central province of Uthai Thani. He died after burying a dead chicken with his bare hands.

To help control the spread of the virus, 900,000 volunteers have been recruited across the country to spray disinfectant around poultry farms every three months and check for signs of illness among residents.

Thailand, the world's fourth-largest exporter of poultry, now only exports cooked chicken.

The country has stockpiled 1.5 mln capsules of the anti-viral drug oseltamvir, a generic version of the drug Tamiflu, which the kingdom began producing this year.

http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=5793374&subject=general&action=article

[Theresa42]

Re: Thailand confirms new bird flu death

Bird Flu Killed Man in Thailand, Health Ministry Says (Update1)

By Anuchit Nguyen and Beth Jinks

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu killed a man last month in northeastern Thailand, the country's 17th reported fatality from the virus since human cases were first recorded there in 2004.

The 60-year-old man from Nong Bua Lamphu province, 610 kilometers (379 miles) northeast of the capital Bangkok, died on Aug. 10, Praj Boonyawongwirojana, the health ministry's permanent secretary, told reporters today. Samples from the man were collected two days later and the diagnosis was confirmed on Sept. 22.

Since 2003, the H5N1 virus is known to have infected 249 people in 10 countries, killing 146 of them, the World Health Organization said yesterday. Millions could die if the virus mutates to become easily transmissible between people, sparking a lethal pandemic.

Almost all human H5N1 cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, such as children playing with them or adults butchering them or plucking feathers, according to the Geneva-based agency.

The latest death in Thailand, the world's fourth-biggest poultry exporter, is part of a fresh round of outbreaks that killed two others in the Southeast Asian country earlier this year. Thailand has had 24 confirmed human cases of avian flu.

Thai authorities had four human influenza cases under surveillance as of Sept. 24, according to the Department of Disease Control's Web site. Two are in Kamphaeng Phet province, 358 kilometers north of Bangkok, and one each from Kanchanaburi province, 128 kilometers west of Bangkok, and Suphan Buri province, 100 kilometers northwest of the capital.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anuchit Nguyen in Bangkok at anguyen _at_ bloomberg.net .

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aB2me4kKYv10

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Thailand confirms new bird flu death

Latest Thai bird flu casualty was fighting cock breeder

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- A 59-year-old Thai man who bred and raised fighting cocks in northeastern Thailand contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus and has died, bringing the country's human death toll from the disease to 17, health officials said Tuesday.


The man, from Nong Bua Lamphu province, had been treating his sick fighting cocks with herbal medicines when he was exposed to the disease, said Thawat Suntrajarn, director-general of the Department of Communicable Disease Control. He became ill on July 14 with fever and aches, and died on Aug. 10, said a statement from the Health Ministry.

``He didn't give his full history to the doctor -- that he raised chickens, that they were sick, and that they had died,'' Thawat told The Associated Press. ``He was scared that the agriculture officials would kills his birds.''
Thawat said the man had about 50 fighting cocks on his farm and assumed that since there weren't any bird flu outbreaks in the area near his home, that his birds couldn't possibly have died of bird flu.

``His wife finally confessed 14 days after he became sick,'' Thawat said, adding that officials have gone to the man's farm to cull poultry according to standard protocol.

Cock fighting is hugely popular in Thailand, and owners have resisted previous culls by hiding their expensive birds.

The Health Ministry said Thailand has logged 17 human deaths from the disease

[Harriet]

Thai man who bred fighting cocks dies of bird flu

Thai man who bred fighting cocks dies of bird flu; Indonesian man sickened by the virus
The Associated Press

Published: September 26, 2006


BANGKOK, Thailand A 59-year-old Thai man who bred and raised fighting cocks in northeastern Thailand contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus and has died, bringing the country's human death toll from the disease to 17, health officials said Tuesday.

Meanwhile in Indonesia, laboratory tests confirmed Tuesday that an Indonesian man has been sickened by bird flu, health officials said, pointing to a possible new family cluster.

The Thai victim, from Nong Bua Lamphu province, had been treating his sick fighting cocks with herbal medicines when he was exposed to the disease, said Thawat Suntrajarn, director-general of the Department of Communicable Disease Control. He became ill on July 14 with fever and aches, and died on Aug. 10, said a statement from the Health Ministry.

"He didn't give his full history to the doctor ? that he raised chickens, that they were sick, and that they had died," Thawat told The Associated Press. "He was scared that the agriculture officials would kills his birds."

Thawat said he had about 50 fighting cocks on his farm and assumed that since there weren't any bird flu outbreaks in the area near his home, his birds couldn't possibly have died of bird flu.

"His wife finally confessed 14 days after he became sick," Thawat said, adding that officials have gone to the man's farm to cull poultry according to standard protocol.

Cock fighting is hugely popular in Thailand, and owners have resisted previous culls by hiding their expensive birds.

The Health Ministry said Thailand has logged 17 human deaths from the disease.

The man came from the None Sang district of Nong Bua Lamphu, about 420 kilometers (260 miles) northeast of Bangkok.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 146 people worldwide since it started ravaging poultry stocks in Asia three years ago, according to the World Health Organization, not including the most recent death in Thailand.

Indonesia has been the hardest hit nation by the virus with 51 fatalities. The latest victim was a 9-year-old boy, who died Monday from bird flu hours after he was admitted to a hospital in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

In West Java, health officials said Tuesday that a 20-year-old patient being treated at a hospital in the city of Bandung has been diagnosed with the virus. His older brother died with symptoms of the disease before samples could be taken, said Fatimah Resmiati, a provincial health official.

Resmiati suggested that the siblings could represent a new family cluster of the disease.

At present bird flu is difficult for people to catch ? with most infections being linked to close contact with infected birds or their droppings.

Experts closely monitor families that have been struck by the disease for signs that the virus may have mutated into a form that is easily passed between humans, potentially causing a deadly global pandemic.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/26/asia/AS_GEN_Asia_Bird_Flu.php

[Laidback Al]

Re: Thailand confirms new bird flu death

Here is the official report from the Thai Ministry of Public Health on the most recent H5N1 case in Thailand.

http://thaigcd.ddc.moph.go.th/AI_pre...060925_En.html
Thai Ministry of Pubic Health confirm the third case of H5N1 in human of this year

Bureau of Epidemiology
Department of Disease Control
Thai Ministry of Public Health
26 September 2006
The Thai Ministry of Public Health confirms that a 59 year old male from Nongbualumpoo province, in the northeastern region of Thailand, was infected with H5N1 and died on 10 of August. He developed fever; malaise and muscle ache in 14 of July. He seeked treatment at the community hospital a week later with high grade fever and cough. He was referred to the provincial hospital on 26 of July and the history of exposure to sick bird was revealed. The man raised 40 backyard chickens which starting to die-off during the past two weeks before his illness. The man reported to carry his chicken to apply traditional medicine in the eye of the sick chickens daily. He was treated with antiviral and on mechanical ventilation support until he died on 10 of August with bacterial complication. Autopsy of this case was performed in 12 of August. H5N1 virus was isolated from lung tissue and feces. To date, four close relatives and health care staff who care for him are all well. This is the third case of the year. Cumulatively, Thailand reported 25 cases with 17 dead since 2004.