January 26, 2007

Thailand and Japan to cooperate in bird flu vaccine development 

Thailand and Japan has agreed to cooperate in research and development on transmittable diseases, including bird flu vaccine for poultry, according to Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thira Sutabutr.

Thira told reporters at a conference for cooperation between the two countries that Thailand and Japan had good technical cooperation in the field of animal health through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

He added that the conference which opened Thursday would eventually expand from being a bilateral cooperation between Thailand and Japan to the international level.

Thailand and Japan's cooperation could be traced for over 20 years in technical cooperation, postmortem, and research and development at the Foot and Mouth Disease Centre, he said.

The Centre could also do bird flu vaccine development, he said, adding that even if the bird flu situation in Thailand is not at a serious level, development of suitable and effective vaccine had to carry on.

Meanwhile, Yukol Limlamthong, Director-General of the Livestock Development Department said the department and Japanese government have cooperated in the study of flu virus transmitted in wild birds and other animals.

The Director General added that the bird flu situation in Thailand is not currently alarming as only two samples from 15,000 samples were found to carry the bird flu virus.