THAILAND: NEW OUTBREAKS OF AVIAN INFLUENZA ARE STILL OCCURING IN SOME ASIAN COUNTIRES

Record ID: 648586

  • 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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