Thai PM offers to help neighbors fight bird flu

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed on Thursday that Thailand is ready to help its neighbors contain the deadly bird flu.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing at the Government House here Thursday, the prime minister confirmed the death of Thailand's latest bird flu victim -- Mr. Bang-orn Benpad, a villager from Phanom Tuan district in Kanchanaburi Province, west of Bangkok, citing laboratory tests confirming the H5N1 virus diagnosis.

Bang-orn was hospitalized Sunday shortly after cooking and eating his neighbor's sick chickens. He died at about 2:00 a.m. Wednesday after suffering from pneumonia-like symptoms, making him Thailand's 13th fatality from the deadly virus.

The Department of Medical Sciences of the Ministry of Public Health Thursday also confirmed that the avian influenza virus was the cause of his death.

However, the prime minister expressed his confidence regarding Thailand's readiness and capacity to contain the disease, saying the country has not spared any effort in intensively combating the disease.

"We don't have to worry. We can take care of ourselves," the prime minister was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying.

"The authorities have taken every precaution, thoroughly inspecting all places at risk of having poultry infected with bird flu so that we can prevent it. We don't wait for the problem to happen," he added.

The prime minister also insisted there has been no scientific indication of bird flu being spread from human to human.

He said Thailand has considerable experiences and expertise in dealing with bird flu, so it is ready to help neighboring countries to deal with it.

"We will send a team of experts and may also send some vaccines to help our neighbors," Thaksin said.

He said he would raise this issue for discussion at the second Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Co-operation Strategy ( ACMECS) Summit, which Thailand will host from Nov. 1-3.

The summit will be attended by the heads of governments of all five member countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Earlier, the prime minister stated that Thailand could serve as a regional bird flu vaccine center.

Source: Xinhua