July 2, 2004

Thailand Bans Poultry Imports From Vietnam And Indonesia

Thailand slapped a ban on poultry imports from Vietnam and Indonesia on Friday, and warned Thai farmers to keep a close watch for a possible return of the bird flu epidemic.

Yukol Limlaemthong, director general of Thailand's Department of Livestock, said border-crossing points nationwide had been told to ensure that smugglers do not attempt to violate the ban on poultry imports from the two countries.

The ban on poultry imports from Vietnam followed reports of a new outbreak of bird flu in Vietnam's Mekong Delta this week. This move comes although it was still unclear whether it was the same strain of the virus that had killed 16 people earlier this year.

Yukol did not say why the poultry ban was extended to Indonesia as well.

Millions of Thai chickens were slaughtered to fight the epidemic earlier this year. A total of 11 human cases of the deadly AH5N1 strain of the virus were detected in the country and seven of them were fatal.

To ensure that the epidemic has not returned, Yukon said blood tests would be taken from poultry at farms throughout the country next week.

He ordered Thai poultry farmers to monitor their stocks carefully and let authorities know immediately if large numbers of chickens or ducks die suddenly.

The European Union was scheduled to vote on July 15 on whether to resume imports of certain types of Thai chicken products that have been banned since the epidemic surfaced in Asia early this year.