Troops enlisted in bird flu battle
MANILA — The Philippines will deploy hundreds of troops to hasten a cull of about 600,000 fowl, the farm minister said on Wednesday, as part of efforts to rein in the Southeast Asian nation’s first outbreak of bird flu.
There has been no case of human transmission after the flu was detected on a farm in the province of Pampanga, about 75 kilometers north of the capital Manila, but it has spread to about 36 other farms and nearly 40,000 birds have died.
“I have asked the Philippine Army to provide us with additional warm bodies to help us in depopulating the farms,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol told a news conference.
“Six hundred thousand is no mean job. Our personnel are facing a difficult task and we lack people.”
Pinol said the government had about 200 men in the area, but fewer than 20,000 birds had been culled since the outbreak was reported.
Brigadier-General Rodel Mairo Alarcon said at least 300 soldiers would be sent to the province on Thursday to assist in the cull of chicken, quail and ducks.
“The Philippines Army and the Armed Forces of the Philippines will support this effort 100 percent,” Alarcon said.
Soldiers will be given protective gear and doses of a drug, Tamiflu, to guard them against possible infection.
Two sick farmworkers from the area have tested negative for the virus, health ministry spokesman Eric Tayag said.
Although the health ministry has yet to identify the specific strain of the virus that hit the Philippines, health and farm officials say initial tests have ruled out the highly pathogenic H5N1.
Samples are being sent to Australia for further testing to determine the presence of the N6 variety of the strain.
The Philippines is the latest country in Asia, Africa and Europe and Africa to suffer the spread of bird flu viruses in recent months. Many strains only infect birds, but the H7N9 strain has led to human cases, including deaths, in China.
BANG KHUN THIAN, Thailand — Revving up his engine as the monsoon clouds begin to open, Nopadol Choihirun steers his weathered boat under a twolane bridge to keep his pile of envelopes and parcels dry.
Dodging a downpour is a regular challenge for the 55-year-old, one of Bangkok’s last remaining postmen to deliver mail by boat to waterfront homes in low-lying parts of the capital.
“I have to be really careful to watch the clouds,” he said from beneath the shelter of the bridge, munching on a banana as the droplets began to fall.
The genial postman crisscrosses the canal in Bang Khun Thian district twice a week. Residents know their mail has arrived by the sound of his engine — and the barking it provokes from the suburb’s dogs.
Drift wood and trash that often get stuck in the boat’s propeller make the job a daily adventure.
But Nopadal says the work is about more than just handing out goods.
“This is better than sitting at the office or making deliveries by bike. I meet with the people and interact with them more,” he said as he called out to waterfront residents while steering his boat.
Laid-back charm
A veteran mailman who switched to the boat service five years ago, Nopadol is taken with the laid-back charm of Thailand’s canal life.
“Some villagers invite me in for lunch or try to offer me a glass or bottle of water. This is the charm of my job and it makes me happy,” he said.
Yet the profession is increasingly threatened by booming development in Bangkok’s sprawling metropolis, with canals paved over and waterfront homes torn down.
With an extensive network of moats and man-made canals, Bangkok is often dubbed the “Venice of the East”.
The waterway snakes through the city and connects to the mighty Chaophraya River. The riverine landscape was once home to thriving communities and trade hubs, and boats played a vital transport role.
But rapid urbanization has seen the capital’s population explode and move into everhigher skyscrapers and condos.
“Former residents in Bang Khun Tian have either moved out of the canal side or left their elders at home,” said Kijja Phaukmoungsri, assistant director of the local post office that runs the service.
The need for floating postmen has steadily diminished, with only seven post offices in Bangkok still carrying the service today.
Costly fuel is another downside of boat deliveries, which are 10 times more expensive than distributing mail by road.
But for those still living along the canals, the service is indispensable, even if most of the snail mail consists of little more than water and electricity bills.
“We live along the canal and there’s no road access. For sure, a mail service like this one is much needed,” said Pacharee Kladpipoon, a waterfront villager.