Thailand Confirms More Bird Flu Cases in Chicken

Bird flu spread further in Thailand on Friday, with the government confirming four new outbreaks of the deadly disease, including one near the border with Malaysia.

The H5N1 bird flu virus was found in chicken and ducks in the northeastern provinces of Roi Et and Chaiyaphum, the northern province of Uttaradit and in Yala province bordering northern Malaysia, the Thai Livestock Department’s Web site (www.dld.go.th) said.Possible fresh outbreaks of the bird flu virus have also been reported in several other areas, Livestock Department chief Yukol Limlaemthong told Reuters.”We have received reports of possible fresh outbreaks in several more areas in the past two days,” Yukol said.The suspected areas are in the provinces of Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani, both near Bangkok, and the northern-central province of Chainat, Yukol said.”Chickens in the areas have died unusually. There is a possibility that it could have been caused by the bird flu virus and we are investigating,” Yukol said.So far, 92 areas in 28 provinces are under bird flu watch, of which 50 areas were confirmed to have been hit by the bird flu virus, Yukol said.Hundreds of thousands of volunteers and teams from the Health and Agriculture ministries are being mobilized across the nation in a new drive to fight bird flu after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gave officials a month to wipe out the disease.”They can cull right away any chicken that shows symptoms similar to the bird flu symptoms,” Yukol said. (Source: Reuters, Oct 2004)