February 11, 2005

Thailand to kill free-range ducks on avian flu suspicions

Thailand has announced plans to cull and slaughter close to 2.7 million young free-range ducks in a bid to stop bird flu from spreading and eradicate the virus from the kingdom.

This decision to cull young ducks would be discussed at next Tuesday's cabinet meeting, while the bird flu committee would ask a 5-billion-baht (about 125 million US dollars ) mortgage fund for frozen chickens and ducks and the culling.

This was based on the belief that ducks were stronger than other fowls and could be carriers of the disease without exhibiting symptoms.

Yet, the rearing of free-range duck in rural areas, out of a closed-farming system, has contributed to the spread of the disease.

"We have found a high rate of the disease in ducks. They are still a prime cause of the spread," Bangkok Post on Friday quoted deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng as saying.

Chaturon chairs Thailand's bird flu committee, which is tasked with preventing the epidemic.

The Thai government earlier moved more than one million full-grown ducks to closed farms or slaughterhouses in efforts to control the viral spread. It also confined 5.5 million ducks to certain areas and destroyed four million duck eggs.

The country, which has been plagued with bird flu now for over a year, is on high alert for any large-scale outbreak. Preventive measures include having on standby a hundred thousand doses of avian flu vaccine, setting up more labs for quick bird flu-related test results, and issuing free education booklets for the public.

So far, two provinces in northern Thailand and one in central region have been afflicted by recent infections, while another 28 provinces are being surveyed.