July 26, 2006

Tests confirm H5N1 strain in Thailand's dead chickens

Laboratory tests confirmed that chickens in northern Thailand died last week from the virulent H5N1 bird flu virus, an agricultural official said Tuesday (Jul 25).

Officials on Monday found that bird flu killed 31 chickens in Phichit province's Bangmunnak district. Test results Tuesday evening confirmed the chickens were infected specifically with the deadly H5N1 virus, said Nirandorn Auengtrakulsuk, head of the Agriculture Ministry's Disease Control Department.