Thailand convenes bird flu summit

The illness is linked to close contact with live chickens

Thailand is inviting representatives from all six Asian nations hit by the bird flu crisis to an emergency summit.

EU and Japanese officials will also be invited to the meeting in Bangkok on Wednesday, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN food agency.

The announcement came as Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faced allegations that his government tried to cover up the outbreak.

The worst-hit country is Vietnam, where six people have now died of avian flu.

AVIAN FLU ALERT First jumped "species barrier" from bird to human in 1997 In humans, similar symptoms include fever, sore throat, and cough Types known to infect humans are influenza A subtypes H5N1 and H9N2 Q&A Avian flu

On Saturday, Vietnamese health officials confirmed that a 13-year-old boy who died in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday was the country's latest victim of the outbreak.

The WHO said an eight-year-old girl in the same city had tested positive for the virus and was in a critical condition.

Thailand is the only other country where avian flu has crossed from birds to humans. The death of a 56-year-old Bangkok man who raised fighting cocks is thought to have been caused by the virus.

The WHO has warned that the Asian outbreak could mutate and become more dangerous.

Jeopardy

The Thai Government has come in for strong criticism for its handling of the crisis, both from political opponents and the media.

The Bangkok Post newspaper accused the authorities of failing to take prompt action against the outbreak.

"The government's effort to sweep the problem under the carpet has exploded in its face, leaving the poultry industry in tatters and the very safety of the public in jeopardy," said an editorial in the paper's Saturday edition.

AVIAN FLU TIMELINE Nov 2003 - Thailand reports what it calls chicken cholera 15 Dec - S Korea confirms avian flu outbreak 9 Jan 2004 - UN sends help to Vietnam after avian flu outbreak 11 Jan - First of five Vietnamese deaths confirmed as avian flu 13 Jan - Japan confirms avian flu outbreak 15 Jan - Taiwan announces different strain of avian flu 21 Jan - Laos reports suspected chicken cholera 23 Jan - Thailand confirms first human cases of avian flu 23 Jan - Cambodia detects first case in chickens

For their part, opposition politicians are threatening a motion of no confidence.

But Mr Thaksin denied accusations that his government tried to hide the crisis.

"There has been a lot of talk that the government has been trying to cover this up," Mr Thaksin said in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

"That we didn't say anything doesn't mean we weren't working. We've been working very hard."

Thailand's decision to call an emergency summit was welcomed by the European Union's health commissioner, David Byrne, who was visiting Thailand.

Mr Byrne told Reuters news agency the meeting would allow "experts to talk to experts" on how to fight the virus.

Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea have joined a growing list of countries to ban imports of poultry from Thailand, Asia's main exporter.

Thailand's main poultry buyers, Japan and the EU, had already banned Thai chicken, along with the Philippines, Hong Kong and Bangladesh.

Avian flu has also affected chickens in Cambodia, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea - but is not known to have jumped from birds to humans in these countries.