THAILAND: NEW OUTBREAKS OF AVIAN INFLUENZA ARE STILL OCCURING IN SOME ASIAN COUNTIRES
Record ID:
648586
THAILAND: NEW OUTBREAKS OF AVIAN INFLUENZA ARE STILL OCCURING IN SOME ASIAN COUNTIRES
- Title: THAILAND: NEW OUTBREAKS OF AVIAN INFLUENZA ARE STILL OCCURING IN SOME ASIAN COUNTIRES
- Date: 26th February 2004
- Summary: (W3) PATHUM THANI, THAILAND (FEBRUARY 25, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. SV GROUP OF MIGRATORY BIRDS FLYING AND TAKING A REST ON TREES 0.04 2. CU MOTHER FEEDING HER BABIES 0.09 3. SLV GROUP OF MIGRATORY BIRDS STANDING 0.13 4. CU BIRD DROPPING IN THE TREE 0.17 5. SLV WORKER SPRAYING DISINFECTANT CHEMICALS 0.22 6. CU BIRD CLEANING ITSELF 0.26 7. LV/CU WORKER SPRAYING DISINFECTANT CHEMICALS (2 SHOTS) 0.38 8. CU OF BIRD 0.41 9. LV MIGRATORY BIRDS IN TREE 0.47 (W3) BANGKOK, THAILAND (FEBRUARY 25, 2004) (REUTERS) 10. SLV EXTERIOR OF THE REGIONAL OFFICE FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF UNITED NATIONS 0.52 11. CU OF FAO NAME ON BUILDING 0.56 12. MCU (English) CHIEF ANIMAL HEALTH SERVICE ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH DIVISION AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT, DR. J. DOMENECH SAYING: "We are not going to ask to kill the wild life, so again and again the consequences if it's proven that the current situation is due to virus coming from wild bird, it will be the reinforcement of bio-security measures and keeping the domestic birds away from wild life there is no other way". 1.19 (W3) PATHUM THANI, THAILAND (FEBRUARY 25, 2004) (REUTERS) 13. LV OF MIGRATORY BIRDS AT SUNSET (3 SHOTS) 1.33 (W3) BANGKOK, THAILAND (FEBRUARY 26, 2004) (REUTERS) 14. SVOF THE ARRIVAL OF VARIOUS DELEGATES AT THE EMERGENCY REGIONAL MEETING ON AVIAN INFLUENZA CONTROL 1.39 15. SV DELEGATES CHATTING 1.45 16. LV/MCU DELEGATES DURING OPENING MEETING (2 SHOTS) 1.55 17. MCU (English) WHO REPRESENTATIVE, BJORN MELGAARD SAYING "The vaccine could be available shortly for vaccine manufacturers to begin small scale production, so that the saftey and the efficiency tests can be conducted before large scale production can take place" 2.11 18. SV DELEGATES PARTICIPATING ON A MEETING 2.14 19. MCU (English) MELGAARD SAYING "In many regions with huge poultry population those people that are most at risk of being infected are people raising poultry in backyard farms as we have seen with many of the human cases that have been identified so far." 2.32 20. SV DELEGATES LISTENING 2.37 21. MCU (English) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL AND REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, HE CHANGCHUI SAYING "The panel concluded that the current epidimic in Asia is rapidly evolving and anticipated that it will continue to expand both in geographical distribution and the incident." 2.54 22. SV DELEGATES ATTENDING A MEETING 3.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 12th March 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PATHUM THANI AND BANGKOK, THAILAND
- Country: Thailand
- Reuters ID: LVAEUAGMXEFTJWACVJG6BN9ULH89
- Story Text: New outbreaks of avian influenza are still occuring
in some Asian countries, the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) said today.
New outbreaks of avian influenza are still occuring
in some Asian countries, the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) said today, stressing the need for
continued control campaigns and tighter bio-security.
The comments were made at a three-day Emergency
Regional Meeting on Avian Influenza Control, attended by
donors, officials and health and agriculture experts from
22 Asia-Pacific countries.
Countries affected by the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus
are Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea,
Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. A less virulent virus was
reported in Pakistan.
On the agenda at the meeting sponsored by the FAO and
WHO (World Health Organisation) was the fear that millions
of ducks, stints and storks will soon fly to Europe and
other regions from their winter homes in Asia, fueling
fears they may carry the deadly H5N1 virus that has killed
22 people and ravaged poultry flocks across the region.
The FAO this week urged countries to be more
vigilant against the threat posed by wild birds, but it
opposed a mass cull which environmentalists fear some
governments may consider.
Thailand is part of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway,
one of the world's three major north-south routes for
migratory
fowl.
In Thailand, authorities are testing 17 storks
suspected of dying from the virus. Infections have also
been reported in ducks, geese, turkeys, ostriches, quail,
and peacocks.
FAO Chief of Animal Health Service DR J. Domenech said
that a mass slaugthering of migratory birds would not solve
the problem.
"We are not going to ask to kill the wild life, so
again and again the consequences if it's proven that the
current situation is due to virus coming from wild bird, it
will be the reinforcement of bio-security measures and
keeping the domestic birds away from wild life there is no
other way" said by Dr. J. Domenech
Part of the fear is that some wild birds can carry the
virus but not necessarily fall ill from it, allowing them
to spread it along migratory routes, their droppings
contaminating water sources shared by domestic poultry.
The virulent H5N1 virus has hit eight countries and
killed 22 people. It has also crossed the species barrier
to domestic animals such as house cats and killed a rare
clouded leopard in Thailands.
During the meeting, experts discussed how the fight
against bird flu is progressing and ways to rebuild the
regions' shattered poultry industries.
Also disucussed was the development of a human
vaccine, which WHO representative Bjorn Melgaard said would
be available soon.
"The vaccine could be available shortly for vaccine
manufacturers to begin small scale production, so that the
saftey and the efficiency tests can be conducted before
large scale production can take place," he said.
FAO estimates that about 100 million birds have
died or have been culled to battle the disease (Thailand 36
million, Viet Nam 36 million, China 5 million, Pakistan 4
million, Indonesia 15 million). Melgaard said the people
raising poultry and involved int he culling are most at
risk from the disease.
"In many regions with huge poultry population those
people that are most at risk of being infected are people
raising poultry in backyard farms as we have seen with
many of the human cases that have been identified so far,"
he said.
"The panel concluded that the current epidimic in
Asia is rapidly involving and anticipated that it will
continue to expand both in geographical distribution and
the incident." said Assistant Director-General and
Regional representative for Asia-Pacific He Changchui.
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