Bird flu death toll hits 31 as culling efforts are hampered

THE human toll from bird flu reached 31 yesterday when Thailand confirmed a nine-year-old girl died from the disease, while Indonesia joined the list of countries struggling with Asia’s second wave of outbreaks.

In Malaysia, which escaped the first wave of the bird flu crisis early this year but reported an outbreak last month, authorities in the northern Kelantan state said that they were having trouble chasing down chickens for culling at farms where the birds often are allowed to roam free, perching on trees or creeping into bushes.

Kanda Srilueng-On, aged 9, died overnight at a hospital in Thailand's Phetchabun province only hours after tests confirmed she was stricken with the disease, the Health Ministry said yesterday.