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Seasonal colds raise bird flu fears
http://www.manager.co.th/IHT/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9490000093875
http://www.manager.co.th/IHT/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9490000093875
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="body" align="left" valign="baseline">By ThaiDay</td> <td class="date" align="left" valign="baseline">22 July 2006 01:30</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center" valign="middle">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Recent reports of hundreds of dead birds and scores of sick people in Central Plains provinces have alarmed health and agriculture officials on the lookout for bird flu. Although doctors from the Health Ministry say the illnesses are not due to the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus, agriculture ministry officials say people are getting lax in reporting sick animals, which could lead to an outbreak.
?Most people in high risk provinces are not reporting sick or dead birds to authorities,? said agriculture minister Sudarat Keyuraphan yesterday.
The statement comes just a week after her ministry designated seven provinces in the Central Plains region ?high risk? and began an investigation into whether communities were trained in proper procedures for handling and reporting sick birds.
The Agriculture Ministry will be ?adjusting their prevention plan? by coordinating with health officials to make sure that area farmers are properly advised, according to the minister. Part of the new plan will involve visits to all ?high risk? villages, she said.
Khunying Sudarat?s announcement comes as another two children from the Central Plains province of Phichit have been cleared of avian flu.
Earlier this week, two young girls were reportedly sent to Phichit Provincial Hospital after they developed severe flu-like symptoms, including a high fever and cough. The girls, who were put in quarantine on Wednesday but released yesterday, are among scores of people in the Central Plains region who have fallen ill in recent weeks.
?Many people certainly can be alarmed by the information...What we know is that many people are coming down with fever, but these symptoms are not necessarily avian flu,? said Dr PT Jayawickramarajah, the World Health Organization?s representative in Thailand.
So far, none of the birds tested in the high risk areas have been found to be carrying bird flu, said a spokesman from the Agriculture Ministry. And doctors at the Health Ministry say the increase in reports of sick people means that, while farmers may not be following the advice of government officials on reporting sick birds, at least doctors are following the advice of government officials on reporting sick people.
The Health Ministry says that since last year it has been receiving a marked increase in calls from community healthcare providers reporting patients displaying suspicious symptoms.
?Usually now when local physicians see seasonal influenza symptoms, they will send sputum samples to our department for testing...[Yesterday we had] 19 [severe influenza] cases under investigation. However, when you look at the epidemiological data and the clinical information, none of them appear to have avian flu. Many of the cases we have seen are H1 seasonal influenza,? said Dr Paijit Warachit, director general of the ministry?s Department of Medical Science.
The ministry said it has been testing an average of 20 specimens a day this month, which Dr Paijit estimated to be five times June?s average. The spike in potential cases correlates with the country?s annual flu season, said the doctor. ?Unlike Europe or the US, which will see more flu cases in the winter, usually, we see seasonal influenza in Thailand in the rainy season,? said Dr Paijit.
?Most people in high risk provinces are not reporting sick or dead birds to authorities,? said agriculture minister Sudarat Keyuraphan yesterday.
The statement comes just a week after her ministry designated seven provinces in the Central Plains region ?high risk? and began an investigation into whether communities were trained in proper procedures for handling and reporting sick birds.
The Agriculture Ministry will be ?adjusting their prevention plan? by coordinating with health officials to make sure that area farmers are properly advised, according to the minister. Part of the new plan will involve visits to all ?high risk? villages, she said.
Khunying Sudarat?s announcement comes as another two children from the Central Plains province of Phichit have been cleared of avian flu.
Earlier this week, two young girls were reportedly sent to Phichit Provincial Hospital after they developed severe flu-like symptoms, including a high fever and cough. The girls, who were put in quarantine on Wednesday but released yesterday, are among scores of people in the Central Plains region who have fallen ill in recent weeks.
?Many people certainly can be alarmed by the information...What we know is that many people are coming down with fever, but these symptoms are not necessarily avian flu,? said Dr PT Jayawickramarajah, the World Health Organization?s representative in Thailand.
So far, none of the birds tested in the high risk areas have been found to be carrying bird flu, said a spokesman from the Agriculture Ministry. And doctors at the Health Ministry say the increase in reports of sick people means that, while farmers may not be following the advice of government officials on reporting sick birds, at least doctors are following the advice of government officials on reporting sick people.
The Health Ministry says that since last year it has been receiving a marked increase in calls from community healthcare providers reporting patients displaying suspicious symptoms.
?Usually now when local physicians see seasonal influenza symptoms, they will send sputum samples to our department for testing...[Yesterday we had] 19 [severe influenza] cases under investigation. However, when you look at the epidemiological data and the clinical information, none of them appear to have avian flu. Many of the cases we have seen are H1 seasonal influenza,? said Dr Paijit Warachit, director general of the ministry?s Department of Medical Science.
The ministry said it has been testing an average of 20 specimens a day this month, which Dr Paijit estimated to be five times June?s average. The spike in potential cases correlates with the country?s annual flu season, said the doctor. ?Unlike Europe or the US, which will see more flu cases in the winter, usually, we see seasonal influenza in Thailand in the rainy season,? said Dr Paijit.