Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – Today the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the death of a 58 year-old Thai women of avian influenza. The toll of victims has now risen to 3 in Thailand and 8 in Vietnam. Meanwhile the FAO has organized a meeting in Rome to discuss the spread of the virus.

In the attempt to stop the virus from spreading, the WHO complained about the lack of government cooperation and that of Chinese health authorities. In particular, the WHO has requested to have specimens for lab analyses and more details on the death of two tourists in Hong Kong, one of whom was infected with the virus.

For the WHO's representative in Beijing, Henk Bekedam, it is an urgent matter to improve the monitoring of animals and the distribution of instructions on the isolating and killing of chickens. WHO experts are amazed by the reticence of Chinese health authorities, who released information only a few days ago about a new Sars case dating back to the beginning of January. 

The bird flu is taking its toll on the economy. In Shanghai, following the ban on selling live chickens in local markets, prices and sales of poultry have fallen sharply.

The Shanghai Pigeon Association. which organizes courses for pigeons, warned its 8000 owner-members to quarantine the nearly 400,000 pigeons found in the city. Last Sunday the largest migratory bird reserve in Shanghai (Chonming East Island Bird Zone) was closed to the public.  

In some zoos poultry has been eliminated from animal feed. Reports of losses are huge. Chen Guang, secretary general of the Poultry Association, said that losses in the poultry industry are incalculable. According to the minister of commerce, in 2002 China exported 360 million dollars worth of chickens. Even the American Soybean Association, which exports chicken feed, complained of serious losses in the Chinese market. In Wuhan, the capital of Hubei and isolated to avoid the arrival of the virus to the area, people don't eat chicken or eggs for fear of contracting the disease. Restaurants, farms and markets in Guangzhou complain about spiraling sales and prices.  

In Hong Kong Monetary Authority director, Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, said the bird flu will causes investments to flee from the region. Many of the territory's restaurants have replaced chicken with lamb on their menus. 

The Indonesian government admitted to the presence of the deadly H5N1 virus. In recent days Jakarta said that there was a less aggressive virus in the country, which could not be transmitted from animals to humans. The government gave some national companies the responsibility of supplying or importing vaccines for infected chickens. Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, director of the Ministry of Agriculture's Department of Veterinary Science, said that 1.1 billion vaccines are needed, 120 million doses a month for the next 6 months. According to government estimates, avian influenza is costing the county around 1 billion dollars and the loss of more than 1.2 million jobs.