Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - Health and hospital authorities in Thailand are worried that bird flu may spread to humans. Thailand has announced that a “probable” case of transmission among humans , might have caused the death of a woman last week who may have been contaminated by her daughter.
The Thai authorities added however that there is no major risk for public health and that the case would appear to be limited to one affected family.
The mother, aged 26, died after caring for her 11-year-old daughter in hospital who also died. If this manner of contamination were confirmed this would be the first registered case of human transmission and, according to some experts, a concerning development of the disease.
The Thai health ministry said that for the moment there is no proof that the bird flu virus is changing. Recently the World Health Organisation warned that if the virus were to change to a form which can affect humans there could be an epidemic. Doctors are waiting for the results of tests to see of the deaths were due to H5N1 virus, which has afflicted the country for over a year and had killed at least nine chicken farmers.
Recently new outbreaks of the virus were reported in Cambodia, in bird farms near Phnom Penh: 2300 died or were killed at the beginning of the week. Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Indonesia has reported new outbreaks of bird flu after an initial wave in which 16 people died in Vietnam, 8 in Thailand, and the poultry industries in both countries suffered serious damage. In late August Vietnam confirmed that three people had died and in early September Thailand announced another death. (AP) (28/9/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:28; Parole:327)
