Thai Tourists Get Avian Flu at Bird Park

Britain is poised to issue a travel warning after three tourists contracted the potentially lethal H5N1 bird flu at a bird park in Thailand.

The three were from the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, and brought back photographs of themselves in close contact with exotic species.

A test on one man was positive for H5N1 but a second proved inconclusive, according to authorities on the island. Two fellow travelers also had flu symptoms and their preliminary tests were also positive for H5N1.

Britain’s Foreign Office is monitoring the situation closely, as 500,000 Britons travel to Thailand each year, The Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, the country was within days of issuing regulations to combat the threat of a bird flu pandemic, Sky News reported.

Bird fairs, markets and shows will be banned unless it can be shown there is no risk, and the possibility of moving free-range chickens indoors is being discussed with the industry.