July 31, 2006

Thailand reports H5N1 bird flu in Nakhon Phanom

The virulent H5N1 type of bird flu has been detected in chickens in the north-eastern Thai town of Nakhon Phanom, officials said Sunday (Jul 30).

Laboratory tests confirmed Sunday that some of the 2,200 chickens that died on farms in Nakhon Phanom last week were infected with H5N1, Deputy Agriculture Minister Adisorn Piengket said at a news conference.

It was the second confirmed outbreak of bird flu in poultry in Thailand in less than two weeks. On Jul 25, officials announced that dead chickens in the northern province of Phichit were found to have the H5N1 virus. The Phichit cases were the first confirmed H5N1 cases in more than eight months.