March 8, 2004

Thailand Declare Bird Flu Situation Normalized

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told the Thai public yesterday that the bird flu situation has almost been fully cleared up.

The prime minister noted that there were no longer any areas under 'red alert' for the virus, and no new cases of avian flu were being recorded although a number of areas were still being monitored.

Attributing the current situation to close government supervision, he reiterated the safety of well-cooked chicken products.

Japan has already authorised the resumption of imports of cooked Thai chicken, following the inspection of Thai chicken production factories by Japanese teams of experts during 26 Februay-2 March.

However, Mr. Thaksin conceded that indications of avian flu outbreaks in Japan meant that the Japanese public was still wary of eating chicken products.