LAOS -Confirmed second human case dies of bird flu in Laos: WHO

[Laidback Al]

more information on suspected human case -

First human bird flu suspected in Laos

(dpa) - Laos' Public Health Ministry on Monday confirmed that the country's first suspected human case of avian influenza has been detected, following an outbreak of the virus at a poultry farm on the outskirts of Vientiane earlier this month.

The health ministry identified the suspected case as a 15-year-old girl who had been working on a chicken farm in Srirattana district Vientiane, where an outbreak of H5N1 occurred in late January and was confirmed to be bird flu two weeks ago, said Radio Vientiane in a broadcast monitored in Bangkok.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanhthalousy confirmed that authorities have received a confirmation from the Mahidol Institute in Bangkok that the girl, who has been moved to Nong Khai Hospital in north-eastern Thailand, has tested positive for H5 but not yet for N1.

"H5 has been confirmed but N1 has not been confirmed according to the result from Thai laboratories, so yesterday we sent a team to Nong Khai to take blood samples to send to Vietnam and Tokyo in collaboration with WHO for a confirmation on this case," said Yong in a telephone interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The health of the girl, who was first hospitalized in Vientiane on February 15 and later transferred to Nong Khai Hospital on February 24, was improving, according to Yong.

Yong said Laos had taken all the appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the virus from the infected farm, including culling all poultry in the area and 20 surrounding villages and spraying vehicles entering and leaving the "red zone."

Laos, which neighbours Thailand, has reported small outbreaks of bird flu in the past, but has yet to confirm a case of a human contracting the virus.

Bird flu has killed 167 people since 2003, when the virus started to ravage Asia's poultry populations.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=117063

 

[Theresa42]

Re: Laos - human suspected.

Re: Laos - human suspected.

The health of the girl, who was first hospitalized in Vientiane on February 15 and later transferred to Nong Khai Hospital on February 24....

Nong Khai is in Thailand, btw -- just across the border (the Mekong) from Vientiane (Laos). There's been bf in birds in Nong Khai -- pretty sure there hasn't been any human cases there though.

Wonderful places -- both of 'em!

 

[Theresa42]

Re: Laos - human suspected.

Re: Laos - human suspected.

Laos reports first suspected human case of bird flu
Posted: 26 February 2007 1725 hrs

HANOI - A 15-year-old girl may be the first person infected with bird flu in Laos, state media said Monday as her blood samples were being tested in neighbouring Thailand.

The girl, who lives in an area near the capital Vientiane, where avian flu broke out among poultry two weeks ago, suffered flu-like symptoms including a cough, aching limbs and headaches, the Vientiane Times said.

Health Minister Ponmek Dalalay alerted Laos to the case in a press conference but reportedly cautioned: "We cannot yet say whether she was infected with bird flu or not as more detailed scientific research is needed."

Health teams had surveyed more than 7,800 households in 20 villages in Sisattanak district, Vientiane, after the outbreak, the report in the state-controlled newspaper said.

Landlocked Laos borders four countries that have suffered bird flu outbreaks -- China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Laos has seen H5N1 outbreaks in birds in 2004 and 2006 and again two weeks ago, but no human infections so far.

No officials from the Lao foreign or health ministries or World Health Organisation officials could immediately be reached for comment on Monday.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/260688/1/.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: Laos - human suspected.

Re: Laos - human suspected.

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02260702/H5_Laos.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: Laos - human suspected.

Re: Laos - human suspected.

Avian influenza ? situation in Lao People's Democratic Republic
27 February 2007
The Ministry of Health in Lao People's Democratic Republic has today reported the first human case of infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
The 15-year-old female was from Vientiane, where she developed influenza-like symptoms on 10 February and was hospitalized in Vietiane with fever and respiratory symptoms on 15 February. She sought medical care in neighbouring Thailand on 17 February and is currently in Nongkhai public hospital where she remains in stable condition. Samples taken by Lao epidemiologists and Thai clinicians were tested by the National Institute of Health in Thailand and were positive for H5N1 infection. The Lao Government is also providing samples to a WHO collaborating centre for examination.
On February 24 and 25, a team from the Thai and Lao ministries of health and WHO officials investigated the situation in the girl's village and those districts where poultry deaths had occurred earlier. Close contacts of the girl have been identified and are being monitored daily. The adults were provided prophylaxis with oseltamivir and to date, all of these people remain healthy.

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_02_27/en/index.html

 

[Sharpe]

Re: Laos - human case confirmed

Re: Laos - human case confirmed

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/28/national/national_30028085.php

Lao girl, 16, critical with bird-flu virus

Test results have found that a 16-year-old Lao girl in Nong Khai Hospital has the deadly H5N1 virus.



Nong Khai public-health chief Dr Itthipol Sungkhaeng yesterday revealed the patient - transferred earlier this month to a Thai hospital in accordance with a Thai-Lao memorandum of understanding on bird-flu cooperation - was diagnosed with bird flu and that her condition was critical.

With a patient's chance of surviving bird flu rated at 10-20 per cent, doctors vowed to treat her the best they could, he said.

Itthipol has also instructed Nong Khai border hospitals that any Lao patients admitted with fever, cough, shortness of breath and a history of contact with birds should be isolated and treated, to prevent the disease from spreading, and to report them to the provincial Public Health Office.

Meanwhile, Disease Control Department director-general Dr Thawat Suntrajarn said the Lao girl came from the Sri Rattana community, a Vientiane suburb that was within a 1-kilometre radius of a previous bird-flu outbreak.

The girl fell ill on February 10 and was admitted to a Vientiane hospital before her mother decided to send her to a private Thai hospital on February 17.

On February 20, Lao authorities confirmed the girl lived in the outbreak area and that her condition had deteriorated. She was then transferred to Nong Khai Hospital.

Thawat said the Thai Public Health Ministry would cover the girl's medical expenses at Nong Khai Hospital of about Bt80,000 a day. Total costs have reached Bt800,000 so far. Even though she is not a Thai, the case will be useful for clinical and disease-control study of the fatal virus, he said.

Thawat said the Thai team sent to assist Lao authorities found 11 people had a history of contact with birds and that three - including the girl - were suspected of having the bird-flu virus.

In Thailand, 49 patients have been found to have a history of contact with fowls. Only one had flulike symptoms and was treated with the anti-avian-flu drug Oseltamivir, Thawat said.
Thailand is still within the 60-day danger period of the latest bird-flu watch, which end next month.

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Laos - human case confirmed

Re: Laos - human case confirmed

Laos confirms first human bird flu case

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/27/asia/AS-GEN-Laos-Bird-Flu.php

HANOI, Vietnam: Health officials in Laos have confirmed the country's first human bird flu case, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, as the virus continues to spread in Asia and beyond.

A 15-year-old girl living outside the capital, Vientiane, fell ill on Feb. 10 with flu-like symptoms, WHO and the Lao Ministry of Health said in a joint statement. Days earlier, the H5N1 bird flu virus was confirmed in poultry in the same area, they said.

The girl was hospitalized in Vientiane and later transferred to Thailand, where she remains in stable condition, they said. Lab results came back positive for the virus on Saturday.

It was unclear whether the girl had contact with sick poultry. No one who had close contact with her has reported any flu-like symptoms.

This is the first human case confirmed in Laos, although bird flu has killed people in surrounding countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, China and Cambodia.

The last reported outbreak of the H5N1 virus among poultry in Laos occurred in July 2006, also near Vientiane.

"I think the government has approached it in a very strong way," said Amy Cawthorne, a WHO epidemiologist in Laos. "They have intensified surveillance, and they're dealing with it from the animal health end as well."

A new poultry outbreak was reported Monday in neighboring Vietnam, and the disease has recently surfaced in a number of countries, including Russia and Kuwait.

Bird flu has killed at least 167 people since the virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. It remains hard for humans to catch, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic. So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds.

 

[Snowy Owl]

Bird Flu Spreads in Asia as Laos Reports Human Case

Bird Flu Spreads in Asia as Laos Reports Human Case

Bird Flu Spreads in Asia as Laos Reports Human Case
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a02wk0HA8hgQ&refer=worldwide

By Jason Gale and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen


Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu spread in Asia as Laos reported its first-ever human case of the virus, following an outbreak in poultry.


The lethal H5N1 strain of avian influenza infected a 15- year-old girl in Laos, the World Health Organization and the health ministry said in the e-mailed statement. The teenager, who is in the hospital, is from a suburb of the capital, Vientiane, where an outbreak of the H5N1 virus in fowl was confirmed on Feb. 7, the agencies said.


Kuwait reported H5N1 infections in birds for the first time, the World Organization for Animal Health said today.



In the past three months, fresh poultry outbreaks were also reported in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Russia, the U.K., Hungary, Nigeria and Egypt.



Diseased fowl increase the risk of human infection and provide chances for H5N1 to mutate into a deadly pandemic form.


``The number of outbreaks around the globe and the number of human cases are certainly not going down,'' Ron Fouchier, a virologist at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, said in a telephone interview today. ``The problem is still there and the longer the problem is there, the bigger it may get.''


At least 167 of the 275 people known to be infected with bird flu since 2003 have died, according to the Geneva-based WHO. This year, disease trackers have reported 12 cases, including nine deaths. Millions could die if H5N1 becomes as contagious as seasonal flu, sparking a worldwide outbreak.


Human Cases
``The number of humans cases is still rising rapidly,'' Fouchier said. ``It doesn't seem to slow down. Every human case is an additional opportunity for the virus to adapt or to mix genetically with human viruses. As long as this is continuing, the chances are getting bigger'' for a global outbreak.
So far, there isn't any evidence that H5N1 is changing in ways that would make it easier for the virus to spread among people, the WHO has said.


``I am not aware of any specific changes that we have seen,'' Fouchier said. ``They may be there, but we just don't know about them.''


Avian flu killed 43 birds in Kuwait, the Middle Eastern country's first reported outbreak of the lethal virus, the World Organization for Animal Health said. The H5N1 strain of avian influenza was confirmed to have caused six outbreaks in the country since mid-February, the Paris-based agency said in an e- mailed statement.
The outbreaks occurred at the Kuwait Zoo in Al Omaria and in the region of Wafra, the agency said. More than 2,600 birds were destroyed to control the virus, which threatened to infect about 3,651 birds.


Vietnam Outbreak
Vietnam, which borders Laos, this month detected its first outbreak in Hai Duong since December 2005. Bird flu killed about 6,000 chickens in the northern province, where infections began about two weeks ago on a farm, said Hoang Van Nam, deputy head of Vietnam's Animal Health Department. The province borders the capital, Hanoi, to the north.


The latest infected farm raised about 10,500 fowl, Nam said in a telephone interview from Hanoi today. ``It is a private farm and the birds were not vaccinated,'' he said, adding that the farm's owner and local animal health officials failed to follow animal-health guidelines.


Vietnam has recorded at least 2,368 outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza during the past four years, about 1,200 more than any other country, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. About 50 outbreaks were reported this year, partly because farmers ignored regulations requiring poultry to be vaccinated against the disease.


The Southeast Asian nation has culled about 112,000 poultry since December to contain outbreaks across eight provinces in the southern Mekong Delta region.


Vietnam has reported 93 human H5N1 cases, more than any other country. Of those, 42 were fatal. The country's last human case was reported in November 2005.

 

[Theresa42]

LAOS - Suspected second human case dies of bird flu in Laos: WHO

LAOS - Suspected second human case dies of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO
March 4, 2007

HANOI - Laos may have suffered its second human case of the deadly H5N1 virus after a 42-year-old woman was hospitalised for bird flu-like symptoms, the World Health Organisation said on Sunday.

"It is very likely it is H5N1," said Dida Connor, a WHO spokeswoman.

On Friday, tests at the National Centre for Laboratory and Epidemiology (NCLE) showed that the woman, from a village in the Vientiane province, had been found to have the H5 strain, the organisation and the Laos authorities said in a press release.

Both WHO and Laos authorities are waiting for further test results from a WHO reference laboratory in the region to confirm if it is H5N1, Connor said.

On Tuesday, Laos confirmed its first human case of the deadly strain in a 15-year-old girl who came from a different suburban district of the Vientiane capital, and was being treated in a Thai hospital.

"There is no direct link (between the two cases)," Connor added.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/worldhotnews/read.php?newsid=30028456

 

[Theresa42]

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Map time. (There was bf in poultry last year in Nong Khai province in Thailand -- don't recall if there were any suspected cases.)

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Human Bird Flu Suspected in Second Case in Laos (Update1)

Human Bird Flu Suspected in Second Case in Laos (Update1)

By Matthew R. Miller

March 4 (Bloomberg) -- A second case of human bird flu is suspected in Laos, only a week after confirmation of the Southeast Asian country's first case, according to the World Health Organization and government authorities.

A 42-year-old woman from Vientiane province has been hospitalized with avian influenza symptoms since Feb. 28, the Geneva-based WHO and Laos Ministry of Health said in a news release. She remains isolated and in stable condition and is being treated.

``It seems likely it is another case of H5N1,'' said Dida Connor, a World Health Organization spokeswoman, in a telephone interview today in Laos.

On March 2, clinical samples taken from the patient tested positive for H5, according to established WHO case definition, the statement said. Authorities are awaiting further verification of the strain from a WHO reference laboratory.

The lethal H5N1 strain of avian influenza infected a 15- year-old girl in Laos, the WHO and the Health Ministry confirmed on Feb. 27. The teenager, who is in the hospital, is from a suburb of the capital, Vientiane, where an outbreak of the H5N1 virus in fowl was confirmed on Feb. 7, the agencies said.

``There is no direct link to the first case,'' Connor said. ``They're not from the same area.''

At least 167 of the 277 people known to be infected with bird flu since 2003 have died, according to WHO data as of March 2. Millions could die if H5N1 becomes as contagious as seasonal flu, sparking a worldwide outbreak.

 

[HenryN]

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Laos says sick woman probably country's second known bird flu victim
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 4, 2007
BANGKOK, Thailand: A woman who fell ill last month is probably the second human victim of bird flu in Laos, although conclusive test results are still pending, a Health Ministry official said Sunday.
Laboratory test results showed the woman, from the capital province of Vientiane, tested positive for an H5-type flu virus ? but it will take about six more days to know if she has the virulent H5N1 subtype, Dr. Bounlay Phommasack said by telephone.
Bounlay said it was almost certain the woman has H5N1, as she lives near a village that had poultry infected with the virus.
Health officials confirmed confirmed the country's first known human case of bird flu late last month ? a 15-year-old female who fell ill on Feb. 10, just days after H5N1 was confirmed in poultry in the area. The girl was hospitalized in Vientiane and later transferred to Thailand, where she remains in a stable condition.
Both afflicted women reside in Vientiane province, though outside Vientiane municipality, the Lao capital.
Initial tests on the second woman were conducted by Laos' National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology, and a clinical specimen was also sent to the World Health Organization reference laboratory for verification and confirmation, Bounlay said.
The woman was tested after she developed a fever and pneumonia in late February.
"The woman's exposure to sick poultry is unclear at this stage and investigations are ongoing," WHO said in a statement.
Most human cases of H5N1 have been linked to contact with infected birds.
Hospital staff and close family members in contact with the patient were given the medicine oseltamivir as a post-exposure measure, Bounlay said. None have shown any flu-like symptoms.
Bird flu has killed at least 167 people since the virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. It remains hard for humans to catch, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/04/asia/AS-GEN-Laos-Bird-Flu.php

 

[prepdeb]

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Suspected bird flu victim dies in Laos
Posted: 04 March 2007 1919 hrs


HANOI: A 42-year-old Laos woman believed to have contracted the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus died in hospital in the capital Vientiane on Sunday, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"The patient passed away at approximately 14:30 today," the WHO said in statement issued jointly with the Laos health ministry.

Tests had showed the woman had H5 bird flu, but the authorities were still waiting for further results to determine whether it was the H5N1 strain. - AFP/yy

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/261954/1/.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case dies of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Re: LAOS - Suspected second human case dies of bird flu in Laos: WHO

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03040701/H5_Laos_Fatality.htmlhttp://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17698

 

[Sally Furniss]

Bird Flu Kills Woman in Laos; Second Case in a Week

Bird Flu Kills Woman in Laos; Second Case in a Week

Bird Flu Kills Woman in Laos; Second Case in a Week (Update1)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=a6oWYWZ_K6Dw&refer=healthcare

By Jason Gale

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu killed a woman in Laos, a week after the Southeast Asian nation confirmed its first human case of the viral disease, the World Health Organization said.

The 42-year-old woman from Saka village in Vientiane province died yesterday, the United Nations health agency and the Laotian Ministry of Health said in an e-mailed statement. Initial tests were positive for an H5 avian influenza subtype. More tests are under way to identify whether she had the same H5N1 strain that infected a 15-year-old Laotian girl last month.

``There is no direct link'' between the two cases, which occurred about 50 kilometers (31 miles) apart, Dida Connor, a WHO spokeswoman, said over the telephone from the Laotian capital, Vientiane, today.

Laos is the 12th country to report a human case of H5N1 since the virus began spreading across Asia in late 2003. The infection in people increases the opportunity for the virus to mutate into a form that spreads easily between humans.

At least 167 of the 277 people known to have been infected with the H5N1 virus 2003 have died, the Geneva-based WHO said on March 1. Millions could die if H5N1 becomes as contagious as seasonal flu and sparks a global outbreak, or pandemic.

The route of infection in Laos's latest case is being investigated and isn't clear at this stage, the WHO said in the statement. Those people in contact with her since her infection have been traced and none has shown signs of infection, it said.

Poultry Outbreaks

The Laotian government last month reported that the H5N1 flu virus killed more than 250 domestic poultry in the Sisattanak district of Vientiane province in outbreaks that began on Feb. 3. Initial infections in birds in Laos were reported in January 2004.

``The government has really stepped up its efforts to intensify surveillance and identify as quickly as possible any possible suspected human cases and poultry outbreaks,'' Connor said. ``In theory, while the virus is circulating in the environment in poultry, there is always a risk to humans.''

Laos borders China, which reported its 23rd human H5N1 case last week, and to Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia.

The H5N1 virus was confirmed in a flock of ducks in Vinh Long, one of eight provinces in Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta region to report fresh outbreaks since December, Bui Quang Anh, head of Vietnam's Animal Health Department, said on March 1. It was also confirmed in a northern region near the capital, Hanoi, last week.

In Myanmar, which neighbors Laos to the northwest, 68 domestic fowl died of H5N1 on a farm in Yangon, Rangoon province, the government said in a Feb. 28 report.

 

[HenryN]

Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

Bird flu kills 15-year-old girl in Laos
08 Mar 2007 06:08:28 GMT
<!-- 08 Mar 2007 06:08:28 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove-->Source: Reuters

<!-- AN5.0 article title end --><!-- AN5.0 article header -->
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK244542.htm

BANGKOK, March 8 (Reuters) - A 15-year-old Lao girl has died from bird flu, the Health Ministry said on Thursday, the country's first confirmed death from the H5N1 virus.

She died on Wednesday in a hospital in neighbouring Thailand, it said in a statement. A 42-year-old Lao woman died of suspected bird flu last week, but tests have not yet confirmed the H5N1 virus.

 

[Theresa42]

Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

Hat-tip, christian!

Lao bird flu victim cremated in Thailand

MCOT - Thursday 8 March 2007 08:42:38 PM (GMT+7:00)

NONG KHAI, March 8 (TNA) -- The remains of a 15-year-old Lao girl who died here Wednesday were cremated at a Buddhist temple in Nong Khai municipality Thursday.

The Vientiane native was pronounced dead due to avian influenza -- bird flu -- after being hospitalised in Nong Khai province for 19 days.

Nong Khai public health chief Dr. Itthipol Sungkhaeng said that the teenage girl succumbed to the deadly airborne disease although a team of Thai doctors had put every possible effort to save her life.

She was the second Lao patient to die of bird flu. The first victim was found in Ponhong, a town about 70 kilometres from the Lao capital of Vientiane.

The cremation came after Thai public health officials held talks with Lao counterparts. Moreover, the victim's family agreed that her body would be cremated in Nong Khai so as to prevent further spread of the deadly disease.

Dr. Itthipol said that preventive measures along Thai-Lao border need strengthening. All hospitals and health centres along the border have been instructed to closely watch their patients. Extra precautions are necessary, he said, especially during the current dry season when the water level in
Mekong River is shallower and hence more convenient for informal boat crossings.

So far, there has been no report of additional patients with suspected bird flu symptoms, he said.

Attending the funerals Thursday afternoon were Thai and Lao public health officials and family members of the young woman. (TNA)

http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=28325

 

[Theresa42]

Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

The first victim was found in Ponhong, a town about 70 kilometres from the Lao capital of Vientiane.

There's a Ban Phon-Hong just north of Vientiane here:
http://www.travelpost.com/AS/Laos/Vientiane/Ban_Phon-Hong/map/7258627

There's also a Muang Phon-Hong (map below). Dunno which one she was from. Check out the sizeable lake/reservoir there....

 

[Theresa42]

Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

Teenage Lao girl dies from bird flu at Nong Khai provincial hospital
APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL & REUTERS
March 9, 2007

A 15-year-old Lao girl has died from bird flu at Nong Khai Hospital, where she was admitted for treatment nearly three weeks ago, the provincial health office said yesterday.

The girl died on Wednesday due to a severe lung infection, said the chief of Nong Khai provincial health office, Dr Ittipol Sungkaeng.

She was the first confirmed death from the H5N1 virus from Laos, according to the Lao Health Ministry.

A 42-year-old Lao woman died of suspected bird flu last week, but tests have not yet confirmed she had the H5N1 virus. [??]

The teenage girl was living in a suburb of Vientiane, where the virus was found in poultry in January. But officials say the level of her exposure to infected poultry is still unclear.

She was admitted by her family for treatment at the provincial hospital in Nong Khai, opposite the Lao capital, on Feb 17.

The director-general of the Disease Control Department, Thawat Sundarachan, said Lao authorities had demanded that the girl's body be cremated in Thailand for fear that transporting it could lead to the spread of the virus.

The cremation was held in Nong Khai yesterday. The funeral was attended by the victim's family as well as Lao government officials.

Dr Thawat said the department had collected tissue specimens, which will be sent for tests at a World Health Organisation laboratory.

He said the ministry had strengthened avian influenza controls and prevention operations along the Thai-Lao border in the wake of the latest outbreak of the disease and the country's first bird flu-related death.

Landlocked Laos borders China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, which have all suffered human deaths from bird flu.

Lao Health Minister Ponmek Dalaloy said in a statement released after the girl's death that the country had stepped up bird flu surveillance and public awareness efforts.

''The government is enforcing immediate and stringent intervention such as culling of all infected poultry, strengthening hospital surveillance and carrying out intensive information campaigns to educate people on key preventative measures,'' Dr Ponmek said.

The virus has infected at least 275 people in 12 countries since 2003 and killed at least 167 of them in 10 countries, including 17 fatalities in Thailand.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/09Mar2007_news99.php

 

[Sally Furniss]

Laos fears bird flu spreading south from capital

Laos fears bird flu spreading south from capital

Laos fears bird flu spreading south from capital

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK279738.htm

BANGKOK, March 9 (Reuters) - The deadly bird flu virus is spreading into southern provinces of impoverished, landlocked Laos after outbreaks near Vientiane, a government spokesman said on Friday.

Officials planned to cull up to 200,000 fowl to stamp out confirmed and suspected outbreaks in the southern provinces of Savannakhet and Champasak and stop the H5N1 virus in and around the capital, Yong Chanhthalansy told Reuters.

"Although tests have not confirmed that they have died of H5N1, our policy now is just kill them all," Yong said by telephone from Vientiane, referring to the suspected cases in Savannakhet.

The campaign comes a day after Lao health officials confirmed the country's first death from H5N1, a 15-year-old girl who died in a hospital in neighbouring Thailand on Wednesday.

A 42-year-old Lao woman died of suspected bird flu last week, but tests have not yet confirmed the H5N1 virus, Yong said.

The teenage girl had lived in a suburb of Vientiane where the virus was found in poultry in January, the country's first outbreak in seven months.

Yong said H5N1 hit villages a week ago in Champasak, which borders Thailand and Cambodia.

Tests were also being conducted on chickens which died in Savannakhet, which is sandwiched between Vietnam and Thailand.

Yong said the virus may be spreading due to illegal trade in fowl despite a ban on poultry imports.

The virus has infected at least 275 people in 12 countries since 2003 and killed at least 167 of them in 10 countries, the World Health Organisation says.

Health experts fear it could mutate into a form that people catch easily from one another, possibly sparking a pandemic.