April 6, 2004

Thailand To Declare Itself Bird Flu Free This Week

Thailand is set to declare itself free of bird flu by the end of the week if no further outbreaks are reported.

Earlier plans to declare Thailand free of bird flu in March were cancelled when fresh outbreaks were reported in 11 provinces.

The virus has so far claimed eight lives in Thailand, which along with Vietnam has been one of the worst hit countries by the outbreak.

Thailand has slaughtered 36 million birds and placed quarantine regulations on affected zones in an effort to halt the spread of the disease.

Official declarations that a country is bird flu-free can only be made by the World Organisation for Animal Health after a 21-day surveillance period with no new outbreaks.

The deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has killed more than 20 people in Asia and resulted in the culling of millions of birds.