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Bird flu in Thailand: eleven provinces affected
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Bird flu in Thailand: eleven provinces affected
Bird flu is stubbornly hanging on in Thailand, officials said yesterday, dashing hopes that the country would soon be free of the epidemic that has killed seven Thais and led to the culling of millions of chickens.
Thailand, the world?s fourth-largest poultry producer and one of the worst-hit countries, had hoped to declare the epidemic over by next week. But officials now say that may not happen until April.
?We?ve found that chickens have still died in certain areas?, Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob told reporters, adding that tens of thousands of birds had been culled in the 11 affected provinces since early March. ?We may not be able to declare the epidemic over next week,? Newin said. ?We expect all of the areas to become green zones in April if nothing wrong happens?.
Thailand, which has culled about 35 million chickens to prevent the spread of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza strain, is eager to revive its shattered poultry industry and resume annual exports worth $1.5 billion.
Newin said exports of cooked chicken could resume next week to Japan, the biggest buyer of Thai poultry.
Previous outbreaks of bird flu in Europe and the United States took six months to bring to heel and the OIE, the world animal health body, has cautioned against excessive optimism in Asia, saying H5N1 probably would be around for months.
At the height of the outbreak in Thailand, authorities declared 400 ?red zones? in 42 of its 76 provinces. An area must go 21 days without a new outbreak before it can be downgraded to an uninfected ?green zone?.
Newin said 27 provinces were declared bird flu free on Saturday, but it would be another 69 days before farmers could start restocking their farms.
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