Rare leopard dies from avian flu in Thailand

cctv.com 02-18-2004 09:26

Hundreds of wild storks have become the latest casualties of bird flu in Thailand, while new infections were reported in chickens kept as household pets in Japan. UN agencies warned on Tuesday that the crisis sweeping Asia was far from over.

The virus has mostly infected poultry, prompting Asian governments to slaughter around 80 million chickens and other fowl in containment efforts.

Thai officials revealed on Tuesday that a clouded leopard that died at a zoo near Bangkok three weeks ago was a victim of the bird flu virus. It is unclear how the leopard contracted the disease, but it was most likely by eating infected raw chicken meat. A white tiger in the same zoo has also become sick with the bird flu. The open-billed storks found dead at two bird sanctuaries on the outskirts of the Thai capital were migratory birds, which the World Health Organisation has said could be responsible for spreading the disease. With Asia on a region-wide health alert, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Tuesday that it will hold an emergency meeting on 26 February in Bangkok to discuss ways to fight the virus.

Editor:Xiao  Source:CCTV.com