After days of denying it had a problem, Thailand became the latest flashpoint in the bird flu crisis with claims yesterday that a village boy is infected, while the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the fast-spreading virus could mutate into a form deadlier to humans.
Bird flu has killed five people in Vietnam and infected millions of chickens across Asia. So far, fowl are believed to have directly infected people, but scientists worry about the possibility of human-to-human transmission.
"The more widespread it becomes, the greater the possibility that the virus could become altered and become more of a threat to the human population," said WHO spokesman Bob Dietz in Hanoi.
In Bangkok, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra denied claims that the country's first bird flu case in humans had been confirmed by a laboratory.
But a Thai senator, Nirun Phitakwatchara, accused officials of covering up "for political and business reasons" the case of a boy in central Suphanburi province, whom, he said, tested positive for the disease.
Another senator, Wallop Thangananurak, warned against any cover-up if Thailand does have bird flu.
"For example, the Chinese tried to cover up the SARS outbreak last year, which had consequences and pressure from the world community," he said. "So the Thai government should not do like the Chinese did on SARS. It's the government's job to inform the public without making them panic."
Thailand is among the world's top five poultry exporters and has repeatedly insisted that it has not been hit by bird flu, saying that the 6 million chickens that have died or been destroyed in central Thailand were infected with bird cholera and other respiratory diseases.
Japan, though, announced a ban on Thai chicken meat imports yesterday as a precaution.
The sick boy is one of three people being tested for bird flu in Thailand.
The WHO has expressed alarm over the spread of the flu that has attacked millions of chickens throughout Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea, as jittery governments in Asia struggled with ways to contain the disease.
"There is growing concern about the situation as we've seen reports of increasing H5N1 infections in poultry," Dietz said.
Health officials believe that the disease is contracted through contact with sick birds. Eating properly cooked meat and eggs is not believed to pose a health risk. So far, there has been no evidence of person-to-person transmission.
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