CHINA: China and Thailand have reported new cases of a deadly strain of bird flu, a highly contagious disease that killed 24 people in south-east Asia early this year, but health officials in both countries said the outbreaks were under control, writes Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Thailand said it had confirmed outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which first emerged in Hong Kong in 1997, at two farms near towns north of Bangkok, while China said the virus had struck a farm in central Anhui province, 300kms west of Shanghai.
Governments in both Beijing and Bangkok were quick to tell their peoples that the new outbreaks were being dealt with and a repeat of the unprecedented epidemic that swept across much of Asia earlier this year, which saw 100 million chickens slaughtered, was unlikely.
Thailand's deputy agriculture minister, Mr Newin Chidchob, said tests had confirmed fresh outbreaks of bird flu at two farms in two central provinces where thousands of chickens died recently.
"So far, chickens have died only at the two farms," said Mr Chidchob. "We have been monitoring all areas throughout the country 24 hours a day."
The cases in China were the first reports of the avian illness since Beijing declared the disease eradicated four months ago. Tests at a farm in the southeastern province of Anhui have confirmed that chickens had died of bird flu, the government said on state-run television.
China blamed its new outbreak on migratory birds, which were thought to have spread the disease through Asia early this year as they headed south to warmer climates during the winter.
Haunted by memories of the global public relations disaster over the tardy handling of last year's SARS epidemic, China's health authorities are keen to be seen to be taking swift action on any health scares and a team of experts was immediately dispatched to Anhui.
"The outbreak has come under control," the China News Service said on its web site.
Bird flu has also been confirmed on farms in Vietnam in recent days.
What scientists are most worried about is someone contracting both the bird flu virus and a regular human influenza. This could lead to a scenario where the viruses swap genetic material and mutate into a form that is contagious.
Studies have shown the SARS virus mutated within weeks to become much more deadly than in its original form.