SITREP - WHO | Avian influenza � situation in Thailand � update 37

Avian influenza – situation in Thailand – update 37

01 November 2005

The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand has confirmed an additional case of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza. The patient, a 50-year-old woman from Bangkok, developed symptoms on 26 October and was hospitalized on 29 October. She remains hospitalized in satisfactory condition.

On 23 October, the patient visited her husband in Nonthaburi Province, north of Bangkok, where backyard chickens had begun to die a few days earlier. Field investigations have not found any indications of respiratory illness in close contacts of the patient.

The woman is the third confirmed case reported in Thailand in the past month. These cases coincide with a recurrence of confirmed H5 outbreaks in poultry in 6 provinces, most of which are in the central part of the country, and point to the need to remain on high alert for the occurrence of human cases in all countries experiencing outbreaks in poultry.

Since the start of the outbreaks in Asia, Thailand has confirmed 20 cases, of which 13 have been fatal.

WHO Avian influenza � situation in Thailand � update 37