People die from mysterious disease

DVB, February 5

20 to 30 people died from a mysterious disease similar to dysentery at Wunya Village, Kya-In Seikkyi Township, Karen State in southeast Burma near Thailand.

The location is two to three days journey to the nearest border town of Three pagoda Pass and it is a no man’s land wedged between the areas controlled by armed ethnic groups and the Burmese army.

As the area is out of the reach from Burmese medical authorities, it was visited by Karen Health and Development Organisation based in Thailand.

A volunteer Saw El Lu told DVB that the news reached the Thai-Burma during the previous weeks. At one stage, 5 people died within a day.

A spokesman from Dr. Cynthia Clinic near that Thai border town of Maesod confirmed that backpacked medical volunteers came to collect some medicines from the clinic for the villagers recently.

But it is not known whether the deaths are connected to bird flu which is currently raging on in neighbouring Thailand.