New Bird Flu Strain Discovered in Thailand

[Gaybutton]

BANGKOK, Aug 18 (FAO/TNA)

 

United Nations officials in Bangkok Thursday confirmed that the recent outbreak of avian influenza along the Thailand-Laos Mekong River border area was due to a strain of

virus not previously present in either country, and that it probably came from southern China.

 

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also said that the outbreak in Phichit province was a re-emergence of the H5N1 virus previously active in Thailand, and that governments needed to be more attentive to cross-border trade in poultry.

 

FAO regional director He Changchui said that Asia's poorer governments are less equipped to deal with any outbreak and should be assisted with long-term programmes.

 

Laboratory confirmation points to both old and new isolates of the bird flu virus as sources of recent HPAI outbreaks in Phichit, where the 'old' virus reemerged, and Nakhon Pathom and across ther Mekong River, where the 'new' virus appeared, according to the FAO.

 

Calling for improved and sustained HPAI control efforts in Asia, FAO warned in an official news release that "vigorous implementation of recommended control measures is needed to prevent a further spread of the disease and sustain past successes in the region."

 

"Continuing outbreaks in China, recurrence in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, and the steady march of the disease in Indonesia underline the need for heightened vigilance in other Asian countries to prevent and detect any resurgence or introduction of the deadly bird flu virus. Timely reporting and sharing information continue to be crucial," He Changchui, FAO's Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific warned.

 

"Concerned about the recurrence of bird flu in Asia, close monitoring of diagnostic results by FAO has revealed that bird flu is endemic in some areas while new strains have emerged in other places," the release said.

 

"Last month's HPAI outbreak in Thailand's Phichit province was caused by the same virus strain circulating in the area since 2003/4. The H5N1 virus thus remained alive in central Thailand in a reservoir of birds and poultry, most probably a mix of backyard chicken, ducks and fighting cocks," according to Laurence Gleeson, regional manager of FAO's bird flu center in Bangkok on Thursday.

 

This indicates that the H5N1 virus is endemic in the area. While the number and size of outbreaks has been reduced, past control efforts were only partly successful.

 

On the other hand, the outbreaks in Nakhon Phanom and Vientiane were caused by a H5N1 virus strain previously not detected in Thailand and Laos. Instead, the virus is similar to recent isolates from southern China, suggesting that the virus spread from China to Thailand and Laos.

 

The UN organisation said it recognizes that poultry trade across borders is continuing in Southeast and East Asia despite well-known risks to the governments and people in the region.

 

Countries are once more called upon to strengthen in-country as well as cross-border HPAI control measures, FAO added. In addition, regional HPAI networks need to be made stronger and sustainable with national and international support.

 

Recent sharing of information, epidemiological analysis and joint field missions to assess and control outbreaks in poultry have resulted in a better understanding of the month-old resurgence of bird flu in Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

 

The endemic presence of bird flu over the last three years coupled with the proven inroads of new virus isolates into already affected countries makes a redoubling of efforts at both national and regional level essential, FAO noted.

 

"We are at another critical juncture of fighting against the bird flu situation in the region," emphasized Mr He. "Some countries can beat back occasional bird flu reoccurrence, but poorer countries still need long-term work

[Gaybutton]

New Bird Flu Strain Won't Effect Vaccine Production: Health Official

 

BANGKOK, Aug 18 (TNA)

 

A senior health official on Friday said Thailand has been hit by the second H5N1 strain of bird flu virus which has spread from China but reaffirmed that the finding would not hinder the country's ongoing research to produce a local vaccine.

 

Dr. Paijit Warachit, director-general of the Department of Medical Science, said laboratory tests found the second strain of bird flu in the recent outbreak in chicken farms in Nakhon Phanom province in the northeast.

 

Although the newly-introduced strain from China has not yet infected any humans in Thailand, according to the medical science chief, he stressed that lab tests for the new strain in human beings could be still done as before for the first H5N1strain which appeared in Thailand during the past three years.

 

He said Thailand's laboratories to test for bird flu and human influenza have complied with standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

 

During the country's current (fourth) outbreak of bird flu virus, lab officials have tested over 4,000 samples taken from sick humans.

 

Dr. Paijit said officials have found it more difficult to diagnose the disease as symptoms from bird flu virus have become more complicated.

 

''Unlike before, the bird flu virus has now attacked lower parts of our respiratory organs and makes it more difficult to diagnose. Samples need to be retested many times over before a conclusion is made,'' said the doctor.

 

However, he said the presence of the second strain of bird flu virus in Thailand would not affect an ongoing experiment to make a vaccine against bird flu in humans.

 

''We just need to produce the vaccines for both strains, just like we did for human influenza,'' he said.

 

Dr. Paijit said his department has earmarked a budget of Bt36 million to purchase 100,000 doses of bird flu vaccines from overseas for health officials who may be at risk of contracting the virus via their work.

 

No decision has been made yet as the department is negotiating with several countries, Dr. Phaijit said, indicating that the department must consult with epidemiologists and other specialists and make a proposal to the cabinet.

 

(TNA)-E110