Boy dies of bird flu in Thailand

Dec 9: A five-year-old boy has died of bird flu in Thailand, marking the country's 14th death from the H5N1 virus, authorities said Friday as they launched an investigation into how he contracted the disease.

Public Health Minister Pinit Jarusombat told reporters that the child, a native of Nakhon Nayok province, died on Wednesday and that two laboratories had confirmed H5N1 as the cause of death the following day. Health authorities immediately put 14 of the boy's relatives under surveillance and ordered the culling of 1,800 chickens in the area, about 100 kilometers (65 miles) north of Bangkok.

The authorities said they were investigating how he contracted the virus as no birds had appeared to be ill or had died in the area around the time he fell sick. Some chickens, however, have subsequently died. It is Thailand's first human case of bird flu since an 18-month-old baby, who has now recovered, was diagnosed with the virus on November 11.