Thailand on Wednesday reported its first bird flu death in over seven months, raising new fears for the country's struggling poultry industry and putting health officials on high alert.

The victim was 17-year-old boy, who caught the virus from one of his fighting cocks in northern Thailand.
"The victim failed to report the death of his fighting cock because he was afraid that authorities would slaughter his birds," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said.

"He died of bird flu after touching the dead bird that had been sick," he said.

The announcement came just one day after Thai authorities confirmed a new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus in Pichit province. The boy also lived there, but not on the farm where the disease was found.

Thawat Suntrajarn, head of Thailand's disease control department, said the victim suffered from a deadly combination of dengue fever and bird flu, which he said was common in people who die from H5N1.

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