BMJ  2004;328:243 (31 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7434.243-a

News

Death toll mounts in avian flu outbreak

Jane Parry

Hong Kong

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The death toll from H5N1 avian influenza in Asia rose to eight earlier this week, as the BMJ went to press. By Tuesday, six people had died in Vietnam and two in Thailand. All but one of those who died were children, and all had had direct contact with infected poultry.

The disease in poultry is spreading across Asia, with Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Laos announcing outbreaks in addition to Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. The Chinese authorities also confirmed this week an outbreak of H5N1 avian flu among ducks in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The local government immediately culled 14 000 birds.

As soon as Thailand confirmed an outbreak of bird flu, the European Union, Japan, and many other countries banned Thai chicken imports. Soldiers and prisoners have been drafted in to cull millions of chickens by burying them alive.

A mass cull of chickens is also . . . [Full text of this article]

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