Officials are on the lookout for a fatal virus that has leaped from animals to humans in China, and no this is not 2020.
Farmers have been warned by the livestock department to monitor their poultry stock as bird flu strain H5N6 may cross the road after killing at least two people in China. The agency is on high alert to prevent H5N6 from entering the country, according to livestock chief Sorawit Thanito, who said farmers in border provinces are especially vulnerable.
The WHO reported Friday that there were five confirmed cases of the H5N6 bird flu infecting people. Two had already died, two were in critical condition, and one was in serious condition. The Chinese cases were found across a wide area in Sichuan and Zhejiang, as well as just the southern region of Guangxi.
All patients reportedly fell ill after coming into contact with domestic chickens.
No cases have been found so far in Thailand, which is already grappling with an outbreak of African swine fever that’s sweeping the region.
There hasn’t been an avian flu outbreak in the kingdom in over 12 years since H1N1 spread across Asia, killing more than 190 in Thailand alone.
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