BIRD FLU / SUSPECTED CASES ON THE RISE

Man, 12 kids under close watch

Twelve children and a man in Ang Thong and Phichit provinces are under watch for bird flu symptoms after falling ill soon after the suspicious deaths of a large number of chickens in the area. Their condition has worried health officials because they are thought to have been in contact with infected chickens in the aftermath of bird flu outbreaks in Phitsanulok and Nong Khai.

In Ang Thong, two boys and two girls in a village in Sawaengha district were admitted to hospital after they suddenly developed high fever and vomited continuously. Doctors said they needed special care and were being kept under surveillance.

Villagers said the children were seen in contact with the dead chickens before they became ill.

In Phichit, eight students at Ban Nong Nam Kiew school in Sam Ngam district also had high fever after the carcass of a dead chicken was found in their school yard.

A man, aged 31, is also being treated for fever at a hospital in Pho Thale district after 20 of his chickens died mysteriously.

Phichit health official Prajak Wattanakul said the students would be kept under surveillance for at least 21 days and doctors would also be sent to the school to take care of teachers and all 94 students, as there were fears that the chicken might have died of H5N1 bird flu.

Many chickens at a nearby temple died over a number of days and a dog took the carcass to the school ground, he said.

In addition to the outbreaks in Phitsanulok and Nong Khai, officials are waiting for the lab result of tests on ducks after 93 died in Ayutthaya's Bang Pahan district. An initial examination showed the ducks were not infected with the H5N1 virus, said Livestock Development Department chief Pirom Srijan.

In Khon Kaen, provincial livestock officials culled more than 80 chickens in Ban Phai district after 10 died of unknown causes. Officials also are stepping up efforts to block the transport of chickens between Nong Khai and Khon Kaen.

In Prachuap Khiri Khan, deputy provincial governor Bongkan Limpapan told police and livestock officials to be on alert for the transport of fowls to 14 provinces in the South.

According to the Livestock Development Department, six people have been arrested for transporting fowls and fowl carcasses.

General News
Bangkok Post
Thursday January 25, 2007