Govt Set to Use Vaccine to Counter Bird Flu

According to this article, a committee tasked with tackling Thailand’s avian flu epidemic concluded that a bird flu vaccine should be used as a supplementary measure to stop the spread of the disease. This decision marks a change in strategy against the disease, as Thai authorities have previously resisted the use of an avian influenza vaccine due to concerns that the disease could mutate and render the vaccine ineffective against the virus.

According to Public Health Ministry spokesperson Dr. Suphan Srithamma, 800,000 health volunteers are being trained for door-to-door campaigns to educate local people about the deadly virus. The Ministry has also set up a 24-hour avian influenza hotline called the “war room” where people can call with questions and information about bird flu.

The article concludes with examples of local concerns regarding the spread of avian flu in local areas. In one case, local people bought bottled water to drink because of the fear that birds in the area could spread the virus through water tanks. In another case, 3 men were arrested for trying to move their flocks further south to avoid mass culling.