THAILAND AVIAN INFLUENZA: SITUATION REPORT 2

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 006156

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E.O. 12958:NA
TAGS: TBIO AMED CASC EAGR AMGT PGOV SOCI TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND AVIAN INFLUENZA: SITUATION REPORT 2


1. On September 16, 2005, the Royal Thai Government
(RTG) announced confirmed highly pathogenic avian
influenza (HPAI) in 90 birds in central Thailand
(Saraburi and Kamphaeng Phet). This new detection was
made in so-called native chickens (free ranging,
backyard poultry) with minimum biosecurity precautions.
The RTG reportedly responded by culling infected and
suspected poultry. Thus far the source of this
infection is unknown and pending further investigation.



2. Thailand has been conducting the current
nationwide surveillance since July 1, 2005. In this
third wave to date, there have been 36 officially
confirmed outbreaks in 5 provinces, since the second
wave of HPAI re-occurrence that occurred from July 2004
to April 2005. The affected provinces in this third
wave, with the number of outbreaks indicated in
parentheses, include Ayutthaya (1); Chainat (1);
Kampaeng Phet (10); Saraburi (5); and Suphan Buri (19).


3. According to Royal Thai Government authorities,
all cases involved either free-range poultry or poultry
raised in farms with traditional husbandry practices
with poor sanitation and insufficient biosecurity.
Breakdown by type of poultry population, along with
number of outbreaks in each category, include: native
poultry (28); quail (3); fighting cocks (2); laying
hens (1); laying ducks (1); and broilers (1).


4. Four other HPAI outbreaks were detected in August
2005 in similar areas of Thailand and in similar types
of poultry raised in low-biosecurity situations. The
other August detections were in Ayutthaya, Kamphaeng
Phet and Suphan Buri. Detection dates were August 10,
18, 19 and 30, 2005, involving 356 animals. There have
been no recent reports of HPAI infection in commercial
poultry operations and, as such, culling has been
limited to small household flocks with relatively few
animals.


5. A more recent, but not yet officially confirmed,
case of HPAI has been reported in the press and on the
website of the Mass Communications Organization of
Thailand (MCOT). Thai media sources are reporting that
The Director of Bureau of Disease Control and
Veterinary Service, Dr. Nirandorn Uangtrakunsook, said
Wednesday that more than 17,000 birds were culled
Monday (September 19) after avian influenza virus was
detected in a meat-producing poultry farm. Reports did
not indicate how many of the 17,000 birds tested
positive for HPAI, but that all birds were destroyed.
Meat from this flock reportedly goes exclusively into
the domestic market. The official suspects that the
infection in this broiler flock might be attributed to
a failure to control the movement of HPAI positive
native (free ranging) chickens.

6. One Thai English-language newspaper (The Nation)
reported on September 20, 2005, that Royal Thai
Government's Food and Drug Administration announced
that raids along the northern borders foiled a plan to
smuggle avian influenza vaccine into Thailand from
China. Thai FDA said that a total of 700,000 doses of
the poultry vaccine contained in about 1,500 bottles
were found to have originated from China and been
smuggled across the Thai-Burmese border into Chiang
Rai's Chiang Saen district. FDA Secretary General
Pakdee Bhodisiri is quoted as saying that some 450
bottles of the vaccine, carrying the VEBIO and CAHIC
brand names, were confiscated on June 23, an another
429 the following day, and other 429 on June 25. Chiang
Saen customs officers found the drugs left in a Chinese
boat, he said, adding that the smugglers had fled
before authorities, acting on a tip-off, arrived. Prior
to the latest smuggling incidents, customs officials at
Bangkok International Airport discovered another batch
of 300 bottles, Pakdee said. All of the confiscated
products were destroyed, he added.

7. There have been no reports of human infection with
HPAI in Thailand since October 2004. The Minitry of
Public Health (MOPH) continues its surveillance
campaignsThere have been a total of 17 confirmed human
HPAI cases in Thailand with 12 HPAI human deaths.

8. Thailand-based HHS/CDC/IEIP staff Mark Simmerman
is in Indonesia as part of the USG avian influenza
assessment team. WHO has discussed the current
situation of avian influenza in humans with the USG
Inter-agency team and it appears likely that there is
at least one cluster of illness. The human cases are
under investigation. NAMRU2 is actively collaborating
with the Indonesian National Institute of Health to
collect and test samples.

Boyce