Travellers on French island may have bird flu

Preliminary tests conducted on three people who returned to the Indian Ocean French island of La Reunion after a trip to Thailand indicated they may have the H5N1 bird flu virus, authorities said today.

The three people visited a bird park in Thailand during their trip there and had close contacts with birds, said Helene Monard, a French Health Ministry spokeswoman.

La Reunion authorities said a 43-year-old man was admitted to hospital with a fever and strong headaches on Saturday, three days after spending a week in Thailand.

Nineteen others who also took the same trip were questioned about their health.

Among them, two had flu symptoms and Monard said their preliminary tests also were positive for H5N1.

“Although the symptoms are not very significant, there is thus a suspicion of flu of avian origin in the framework of a close contact with birds,” the French Health Ministry said in a statement.

Bird flu is difficult to diagnose properly in preliminary tests, and false positives are not uncommon.

Monard said the travellers visited a bird park in Thailand and that there are photos of them with birds.