BANGKOK– The Livestock Development Department has raised its precautions in the wake of a bird flu outbreak in Hunan province of China.
Sorawit Thanito, director-general of the department, said provincial officials of his department were ordered to advise local farmers to prevent the disease and apply medicine in risk areas.
According to him, the measures followed the report on Feb 2 that the H5N1 avian influenza virus was spreading at chicken farms in Shaoyang city of Hunan. Chinese agricultural authorities reported they celled about 5,500 chickens there.
The department bans the imports of poultry and related products from China in addition to the work of its officials at local farms. The officials were ordered to spray disinfectant in risk areas and reported cases of suspicious chicken deaths for immediate disease control action. Meanwhile, chicken farmers were banned from transporting their poultry without authorization.
Mr Sorawit said that good precautions had kept Thailand free of avian influenza for about 10 years.
“I ordered close surveillance along the border and asked farmers to monitor the conditions of their chicken. Do not hand out or sell any poultry that died abnormally,” he said.
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