Bangkok (AsiaNews/AP) - In Thailand, the H5N1 strain of bird flu - that can kill humans - claimed its 9th victim in this year. An 18-year-old man's death is the first human casualty in the country since the disease re-emerged in Asia in July. Tests confirmed the death on Wednesday of  the young  man in Prachinburi province was caused by the H5N1 bird flu virus, said Charal Trinvuthipong, director-general of the Health Ministry's Department of Communicable Disease Control. The victim raised fighting cocks. He was in the habit of sucking blood and other fluids from the mouths of his injured birds, a common practice in the sport, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said. The man has not been identified. "As the World Health Organization has been reminding its member countries, as long as the virus is circulated by birds it is a matter of time before a human is infected," said Kumara Rai, the acting World Health Organisation representative to Thailand.

Health Ministry said all the chickens in a 2km radius of the victim's house had already been culled. Bird flu has been detected in poultry in 24 of Thailand's 76 provinces, and 14 provinces are currently under monitoring. The latest death raised to 28 the number of people killed by avian influenza in Asia this year. In Vietnam, 16 people died in the first outbreak in January. The disease re-emerged in July and claimed three more lives in Vietnam. On September 5, a 14-month-old baby boy in Vietnam has died from suspected bird flu despite claims by the government that the deadly disease has been brought under control. In Asia the disease devastated poultry stocks and led authorities to cull tens of millions of birds. Malaysia has completed the slaughter of more than 1,800 chickens and ducks to eradicate a bird flu outbreak amid vows to crack down on cross-border smuggling from Thailand, officials said on Friday. On Aug. 17 two outbreaks in Malaysia fighting cocks have led to the culling of thousands of poultry and pet birds to contain the disease, but no humans have been infected. Several countries banned imports from Malaysia, but government officials have expressed optimism that a deal can be struck with the most lucrative export market, Singapore, to accept poultry and eggs from certified flu-free farms.

In the past weeks, some Dutch scientists have warned that the H5N1 virus has the potential to be spread by cats. H5N1 cannot currently pass from person to person, but scientists fear that if the virus does acquire this ability, it could pose a serious threat to millions. (MA)