Thai boy beats bird flu as more outbreaks hit Asia

BANGKOK - A Thai boy tested positive for bird flu, but doctors said there was no sign he caught the virus from his infected father who died earlier this week, suggesting the H5N1 strain had not mutated into a pandemic form.

Ronarit Benpad, 7, who was treated with anti-flu drug Tamiflu in the early stages of his infection, had recovered his appetite and his temperature had returned to normal, although he would remain under observation for two weeks, doctors said.

"There is no evidence to prove the boy became infected from his father," Prasit Watanapa, director of Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital, told reporters. "This boy had direct contact in the infected area."

Ronarit's father became Thailand's 13th official bird flu victim when he earlier in the week in a resurgence of the virus in east and Southeast Asia which has intensified fears of H5N1 mutating into a form that jumps easily from person to person.

Since breaking out in late 2003 in South Korea, H5N1 has killed more than 60 people in four Asian countries and reached as far west as European Russia, Turkey and Romania, tracking the paths of migratory birds.

Its rapid spread has led to pressure on Tamiflu's maker, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche AG, to pump up output by any means possible. The company agreed to meet four generic drug makers with a view to possible tie-ups.

Nevertheless, experts say Tamiflu, which is generically known as oseltamivir, cannot be regarded as a "cure-all" for H5N1 as it must be administered in the early stages of infection -- and will in some cases not work due to anti-viral resistance.

"There are lots of people who are given Tamiflu and it is not seen to be particularly effective," World Health Organisation (WHO) spokesman Dick Thompson said in Geneva. "We know from experience with this drug that it is most effective very shortly after symptoms develop."

In Indonesia, fears fanned by the health minister about a possible human-to-human transmission eased after tests on a father and son hospitalised in Jakarta proved negative.

The WHO also moved quickly to calm any panic, saying transmission between members of the same family did not necessarily mean the virus was mutating into a form that can jump easily between people.

"It doesn't mean mutation," Georg Petersen, WHO's Indonesia representative, said.

Even as it marches west, the virus is flaring up again in pockets of east and Southeast Asia, the most likely epicentre of a human pandemic, according to the WHO.

Vietnam, the worst-hit country, has started culling birds again in the Mekong Delta after detecting its first cases in poultry since July.

Thai health authorities say they have taken test samples from a further 10 possible human cases following a recent spate of outbreaks in poultry in seven central provinces.

The WHO says 61 people have now died of bird flu since the H5N1 strain resurfaced in 2003 after a brief outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997. So far 41 have died in Vietnam, 13 in Thailand, four in Cambodia and three in Indonesia. Six people died in the Hong Kong outbreak.

With the looming winter -- the season when the virus seems to thrive -- China vowed to do its utmost to stop H5N1 spreading to people shortly after new cases were reported at a poultry farm north of Beijing.

"China is prone to bird flu outbreaks in autumn and winter. The situation is very grave," state radio quoted Vice Premier Liangyu Hui as saying.

In Brussels, the European Union adopted fresh measures to fight the virus, banning live birds from markets or exhibitions without permission and urging states to keep wild flocks away from poultry feed.

The European Commission said a committee of EU veterinary experts had agreed on the measures, which included vaccinating birds in zoos and extending a ban on bird and feather imports to cover much of Russia.

Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said member states had drawn up plans to deal with a pandemic and arrange stockpiles or orders for antiviral drugs, but said the risk to the general public was low.

France and Italy tried to reassure consumers it was safe to eat poultry because imports from affected areas were banned, while Germany ordered poultry to be kept in pens. Poland and Switzerland said domestic fowl must be kept indoors to prevent contact with migrating birds.

- REUTERS