Sukhothai bird flu outbreak under control
Written by Writer on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Sukhothai bird flu outbreak under control
1,500 people still under medical surveillance
POST REPORTERS
Livestock Department officials inspect chickens at a farm in Nan’s Pua district following a fresh outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Sukhothai province. Nan was hit by a bird flu outbreak in 2005.
There have been no further cases of bird flu in Sukhothai and the outbreak is under control, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Somsak Prissananantakul said yesterday.
Still, about 1,500 people living in nearby areas are required to undergo a 14-day monitoring period.
Apart from Sukhothai, Mr Somsak said there were no reports of outbreaks of avian flu elsewhere in the country. Five chickens at a chicken farm in Thung Saliam district of Sukhothai became sick and died on Oct 27. Lab tests showed one chicken carcass was infected with H5N1, which can be fatal to humans.
Earlier, a preliminary examination found the carcass contained a potentially deadly strain of the E coli bacteria and various parasites.
This led to the culling of 12 other chickens at the infected farm and 270 others at nearby farms to prevent any diseases spreading.
Mr Somsak said poultry movements were banned and the area declared an avian flu zone with quarantine checkpoints and stepped-up surveillance for the disease within a 5km radius of the infected area.
There had been no further cases of bird flu since the culling of the poultry.
Mr Somsak said epidemiologists were making a thorough check on the cause of the chicken’s death.
Provincial disease control offices in Central Plain and lower North were toughening restrictions on the movement of poultry carcasses.
Livestock Development Department chief Sakchai Sriboonsue said there was no cause for alarm because the infection was limited to a single chicken farm.
Apichart Jongsakul, secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), said there was no sign of a decline in exports of processed chicken products to markets like Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Disease Control Department director-general Somchai Chakrabhandu said no humans had been infected with bird flu in Thailand for two years.
He said 1,500 people in 430 families were under 14-day surveillance for the disease in Thung Saliam district.
People living in the infected area were being monitored for 14 days from Oct 28 as required by Public Health Ministry measures.
Since early this year about 70 people were suspected to have contracted bird flu, with five suspected cases this month.
In each case, lab tests had found no infection.Dr Somchai said doctors and health officials from nine provinces considered at risk of bird flu would attend a meeting on Thursday. They are Tak, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Phetchabun, Uttaradit, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Nakhon Sawan and Uthai Thani.
Bangkok Post
Tuesday November 11, 2008
