| ■ Thailand records bird flu death | 06.07.27 |
| A 16-year-old boy in Thailand has died of bird flu, local officials have said. The teenager, from the northern province of Pichit, is the 15th person to die of the virus in the country and the first fatality this year. Officials in Pichit recently confirmed Thailand's first outbreak of the virus among poultry for eight months. Globally, more than 130 people have died of bird flu since late 2003. Most have been in East Asia, but the virus has also spread to Europe and Africa. Millions of birds across the world have died or been culled because of the disease. At the moment, the virus is essentially confined to birds and remains hard for people to catch. But there is a fear that it could mutate to a form which is easily passed from human to human, triggering a pandemic and potentially putting millions of people's lives at risk. |