Children die at Burma?s Taungtha: Bird flu virus infection feared
http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=6708Mar 22, 2006 (DVB) -
Several young children from Myo-pa Village, Thaungtha Township, Mandalay Division in central Burma, had died recently, causing concerns among the local population that they might have died from the deadly avian flu which has been spreading in the area through chickens.
?The children, only a couple of months old, died within one day at village called Myo-pa,? a local resident told DVB. ? What happened was they first had high fever and then they suffered from diarrhoea. Then three children died and another three were sent to Thaungtha hospital. The health department seems to be a bit worried. They suspected that it could be avian flu. They don?t seem to know for sure yet.?
But a staff from the hospital denied that it was bird flu and insisted that the three children died from diarrhoea and that the remaining children are recovering in the hospital. ?They had diarrhoea and come to the hospital and when we carried out blood tests, we found that they had malaria,? said the staff.
But she admitted that there has been no health inspection by doctors or experts at the affected areas as local health officers regular send reports to the hospital. She also insisted that no sign of the avian flu has been detected among the people.
But a local villager urged health authorities to come and inspect areas around his village with the help from the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, as there is only one small lake for the local people and animals to consume water in the summer.
?As there were reports of flocks of wild ducks dropping dead in the lake, the village authorities imposed a ban telling people not to use it. I think that they are worried that it might be dangerous. Therefore, people are using water from their wells. As people are using the lake water for the use of cattle and human beings, they might inadvertently become spreaders/carriers (of the virus) in the event of an outbreak of an epidemic.?
http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=6708Mar 22, 2006 (DVB) -
Several young children from Myo-pa Village, Thaungtha Township, Mandalay Division in central Burma, had died recently, causing concerns among the local population that they might have died from the deadly avian flu which has been spreading in the area through chickens.
?The children, only a couple of months old, died within one day at village called Myo-pa,? a local resident told DVB. ? What happened was they first had high fever and then they suffered from diarrhoea. Then three children died and another three were sent to Thaungtha hospital. The health department seems to be a bit worried. They suspected that it could be avian flu. They don?t seem to know for sure yet.?
But a staff from the hospital denied that it was bird flu and insisted that the three children died from diarrhoea and that the remaining children are recovering in the hospital. ?They had diarrhoea and come to the hospital and when we carried out blood tests, we found that they had malaria,? said the staff.
But she admitted that there has been no health inspection by doctors or experts at the affected areas as local health officers regular send reports to the hospital. She also insisted that no sign of the avian flu has been detected among the people.
But a local villager urged health authorities to come and inspect areas around his village with the help from the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, as there is only one small lake for the local people and animals to consume water in the summer.
?As there were reports of flocks of wild ducks dropping dead in the lake, the village authorities imposed a ban telling people not to use it. I think that they are worried that it might be dangerous. Therefore, people are using water from their wells. As people are using the lake water for the use of cattle and human beings, they might inadvertently become spreaders/carriers (of the virus) in the event of an outbreak of an epidemic.?
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