bbogdanleo wrote:I've just read about yet another fatal case of bird flu in Indonesia

http://www.bird-flu-center.com/2006/08/ ... an-victim/

I know Thailand has been facing the disease quite heavily too.
Viewed from the outside, this seems like a very nasty situation in that region, but how is it in reality? Could someone share how concerned is the population there and how much are authorities doing to contain the disease?

ray23 wrote:You know this really did have an efffect on me, on one of the bike riides I took recently I stopped a little noodle stand out on a village. I'm eating lunch when all of suddena mother hen and her chicks decide to run through fro a snack. Got to tell you it made me uneasy.

Since then I do have flu like symptom but nothing in tune to what the bird flu would be. Chicken as norm is not on my menu and really never has been, but eggs are. I feel very comfotable with cooked items.

Dog contracts bird flu: doctor


A dog in Suphan Buri has been found contracting the bird flu after eating infected ducks, a doctor said Wedneday.

Professor Dr Yong Pooworawan, a lecturer at the Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine, disclosed the findings at a seminar yesterday.

According to him, a researcher at the Kasetsart University's Kamphaengsaen Campus found the bird-flu infection in a dog and the findings will be published in a foreign journal - Emerging of Infectious Diseases - soon.

Yong refused to elaborate further on the findings.

The Nation

People told not to panic as dog dies of bird flu

The Public Health Ministry yesterday urged the public not to panic over news that a dog had died of bird flu.


Dr Paichit Warachit, the director-general of the Medical Sciences Department, asked the public not to be scared by a report that a dog in Suphan Buri had died after contracting the H5N1 virus.


He said that up to now all bird-flu patients in Thailand were found to have had close contact with poultry that carried the virus.


"Not one patient had a history of close contact with dogs," he said.


Taweesak Songserm, the vet from Kasetsart University who found the carcass of the stray dog in Suphan Buri, said it had contracted and died of the disease after eating the carcasses of wild ducks and that it was a unique case.


He said the animal had been in a weak condition and infected with many kinds of parasite before contracting the bird-flu virus.


"It is the only case [of its kind] since the virus hit our country. So there's nothing to be worried about with your dogs," he said, referring to a possible panic among people who might be worried about their pet dogs contracting the virus.


Taweesak said he obtained the carcass of the dog on a field trip to Suphan Buri during the country's first bird-flu outbreak in 2004.


However, he only completed his research that found H5N1 in cells in various organs of the dog's body, including lungs, liver and kidneys, late last year.


Since it was going to be the first such case in the world, he said, the laboratory results needed to be confirmed by many labs.


Dogs became the fourth mammal species reported as having contracted the virus. The other three are humans, tigers and cats.


Taweesak said he was going to publish the findings of his research, which was a joint project between his university's Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Chulalongkorn's Faculty of Medical Sciences, in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Pennapa Hongthong


The Nation

BANGKOK (XFN-ASIA) - 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.

'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.

Thailand reports bird flu death

Thailand is one of the world's largest chicken exporters
A 59-year-old farmer has died of bird flu in north-eastern Thailand, the third person to die of the disease this year, health officials say.
The man died on 10 August near the Lao border, according to Kumnuan Ungchusak, a senior health ministry official.

He was believed to have been in contact with sick chickens shortly before he became ill.

Mr Kumnuan said final laboratory tests to determine the cause of death were only completed last week.

Thailand is one of the countries hardest hit by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, recording 17 fatalities since 2004.

It was initially criticised for being slow to respond to the disease, but it is now considered to be one of the countries best prepared to combat the virus.


Globally, more than 130 people have died of bird flu since late 2003. Most have been in East Asia, with Indonesia registering more human deaths than any other nation.

But the virus has also spread to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Millions of birds across the world have died or been culled because of the disease.

At the moment, the virus is essentially confined to birds and remains hard for people to catch.

But there is a fear that it could mutate to a form which is easily passed from human to human, triggering a pandemic and potentially putting millions of people's lives at risk.


bbc