January 26, 2011

Thailand declares no new bird flu cases

The Ministry of Public Health has confirmed no new cases of bird flu in any area in Thailand, as local officials have prepared measures to ensure safe public consumption of cooked-poultry during the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Thai Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Tuesday (Jan 25) that there had been no reports on any new cases of the H5N1 avian flu at poultry farms across the country or among patients – following reports on a new bird flu outbreak in Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture recently.

Jurin, however, suggested that people who own, work at or live near poultry farms be fully alert and beware of preventing themselves from contracting the highly pathogenic virus by frequently washing their hands and immediately destroying carcasses of fowl based on guidelines and hygienic standards provided by Thailand's Livestock Development Department, while those having flu-like symptoms should promptly contact doctors.

Meanwhile, Deputy Bangkok Governor Dr Malinee Sukhavejworakit said that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will send officials to regularly inspect poultry slaughterhouses in the capital and will hand out some 100,000 prototyped plastic packs to them to ensure hygienic standards of their poultry and to ensure safety for local consumption, particularly during the Chinese New Year festivity next week.

According to the deputy Bangkok governor, sources and safe standards of poultry purchased from local markets or retail outlets can be checked by accessing a BMA website at http://thaitrace.net through an official code labelled on the BMA poultry packs.