Thailand: Four test negative for H5N1

Via The National: Four test negative for bird flu. Excerpt:

Four people in Phichit province who were suspected of having contracted the birdflu virus have tested negative for the disease, the Public Health Ministry said yesterday.

Deputy permanent secretary Dr Paijit Warachit said he ordered the mobile rapid diseaseinvestigation unit to collect blood samples from the four for testing against the H5N1 strain of the virus at Nakhon Sawan's provincial Science Centre.

The laboratory results found that none of the four had the H5N1 virus, which can be lethal to humans. Three of them are suffering from seasonal influenza, while the fourth has no flu whatsoever.

The four people tested were Krisada Tiangtham, six years old, Nadda Tiangyoo, 10, Tabtim Promsri, 62, and Wanna Toramram, 70. They all remain under observation in Phichit's Sam Ngam Hospital. Krisada does not have the flu.

The four reported they had come into contact with dead chickens in their village before falling ill. Three days later, they had a high fever, and it was feared they had been infected with the H5N1 strain of the birdflu virus.

Paijit has asked healthcare volunteers in Sam Ngam district to monitor the symptoms of the relatives of the three patients with seasonal flu for the next 12 days. If any suspicious symptoms are found, they will also be sent to hospital immediately.

Not only is this good news, but it's a slap in the face to Indonesia's deliberate smothering of flu coverage.

These cases were reported at once (and in English-language media). The Thais' medical system jumped into action and got fast results, and the Thai media reported those results.

The moral I draw is that the Thais are acting like responsible grown-ups about a potentially serious problem. The Indonesians are not.