Late reports

5.8, bird flu

Thailand: a 27-year-old Thai man died of bird flu, the country’s second death this year and its 16th victim since the H5N1 virus swept across parts of Asia in late 2003. The man died in the province of Uthai Thani, 220km north of Bangkok, after having contact with sick chickens. Thailand has stepped up surveillance after a 17-year-old Thai male died in late July amid fresh outbreaks of the disease following an eight-month lull. The 27-year-old man is believed to have caught the virus after it killed scores of chickens on his farm.