Bird flu comes to Thailand

Destruction of bird flu in Indonesia (Photo: BBC)

For the first time in 6 months, an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu has occurred in Thailand. The Thai government has confirmed the outbreak of the disease after 100 ducks in Phitsanulok province in northern Thailand died.

So bird flu is spreading rapidly in Asia. Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, China and Indonesia all have confirmed outbreaks of disease. Health officials across Asia are in high alert.

Since the beginning of the year, four people in Indonesia have died from bird flu and another in China is confirmed to be infected. In this situation, Hong Kong banned imports of poultry from Japan and increased vigilance when a dead bird here carried the H5 strain.

In recent months, outbreaks of disease in Asia have been reduced thanks to the full implementation of the vaccination campaign for poultry. However, in the early months of the year, when cold weather, avian influenza virus is more active, creating outbreaks of disease.

HM