Deadly bird flu 'probably in Thailand'

Thailand’s prime minister said today that lab test results would “most likely” show that the country is facing an outbreak of bird flu, after days of official denials that the disease had devastated local poultry farms.

“We don’t have test results yet, but in the testing it looks like it most likely is (bird flu),” Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters. “If it is (bird flu) then we will tell you. We won’t cover it up.”

Thaksin said there are now five potential cases of the disease and that some test results would be available later in the day. The fifth possible case has emerged in central Chachoengsao province, he said, after officials earlier said four were being investigated.

Public health minister Sudarat Keyuraphun said three people had been tested for bird flu so far, but that one or two additional cases were being considered for testing.

The Thai government had vehemently denied that the avian disease, which has ravaged chicken populations in other Asian countries, has also struck Thailand. Farmers and others allege the government has perpetrated a massive cover-up to protect lucrative chicken exports.

Officials had maintained that chickens at local farms have been infected by poultry cholera and diseases caused by sharp temperature drops rather than bird flu.

Shares in major Thai chicken producers plunged today. A day earlier, Japan suspended all imports of Thai chicken meat.

A high-profile senator raised alarms about bird flu in Thailand yesterday when he claimed that a seriously ill boy was confirmed as its first human case. Thaksin said at the time that it would be days before lab tests could show whether the child was a victim of the virus.

Before Thaksin spoke today, a doctor said that the seven-year-old boy was critical condition at a hospital in central Thailand, and that he probably had been infected with bird flu. He said the boy’s twin brother was also taken to hospital but was in a stable condition.

For days, Thaksin’s government had dismissed claims by farmers that bird flu had infiltrated Thailand, though millions of chickens have dropped dead or been culled in recent weeks. The health minister denied any cover-up.

Politicians outside the government urged it to be upfront about the boy’s case, saying Thailand should not follow the example of China, which disastrously tried to hide details about SARS, leading to a global health crisis last year.

Worried by the confusion, Japan – a major market – announced an immediate ban on Thai chicken imports yesterday. Thailand is among the world’s top five poultry exporters and stocks in the industry dived as much as 7.15 on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.