July 13, 2004

Bird Flu Spreads To Two More Thai Provinces

Thailand reported new outbreaks of bird flu Tuesday - one on a farm near the capital - as it culled thousands of chickens and ducks to contain the spread.

Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsutin said authorities had discovered the virus in central Ang Thong and Suphanburi, raising the number of provinces hit by bird flu this month to five.

He said the H5N1 virus had been found in ducks at open-air farms near Bangkok, and speculated that the birds may have mingled with open-billed storks infected with the disease.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last week blamed storks nesting in the wild for the resurgence of bird flu.

Earlier this year, the disease ravaged farms across Asia, forcing the slaughter of about 100 million chickens. It also jumped to people, killing eight in Thailand and 16 in Vietnam.

Earlier this month, Thailand reported outbreaks in Ayutthaya, Nakhon Sawan and Pathum Thani provinces.

Yukol Limlamthong, director general of Thailand's Livestock Department, said officials had culled ducks suspected of being exposed to the disease in Suphanburi province.

The department also destroyed 5,000 chickens in Nakhon Sawan that had been taken illegally to a slaughterhouse to prepare for sale at local markets, he said. The farm's owner has been detained.