Bird Flu: Ministry Unlikely To Give All-clear

[george]

Ministry unlikely to give all-clear Friday

Three provinces still under close watch

It is not likely Thailand will declare itself free of bird flu this Friday as planned, because three provinces are still under surveillance, the Agriculture Ministry said yesterday.

``We will not make any announcement until the three provinces pass the 21-day surveillance period,'' deputy minister Newin Chidchob said after yesterday's meeting with provincial officials nationwide, to prepare for Friday's press conference where information pertaining to the bird flu situation in the country would be presented.

He said the 21-day period was sufficient and the internationally accepted timeframe applied to areas where sick chickens were found, and that officials put those areas under alert despite the culling of all other chickens.

These quarantined areas would be declared free only after proper surveillance.

Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Chon Buri were the last three provinces still under close watch, Mr Newin said.

The uncertainty follows the collapse of a similar plan for announcement last month, after a fresh case emerged in northern Chiang Rai province.

Early this week Mr Newin said the country could be declared a green area on Friday if there were no reports of bird flu during the week.

Mr Newin did not say yesterday when the virus was confirmed in the three provinces and when chickens were slaughtered.

He said he would disclose details on Friday.

International organisations have warned affected countries not to rush into making flu-free declarations and already belittled Vietnam for its virus-free announcement on March 30, for fear of possible re-emergence.

Last week, Livestock Development Department chief Yukol Limlamthong said the country should make the announcement only area by area, instead of doing so for the whole country because the virus could remain imbedded in the environment and live in poultry for a long time, and thus its return was ``very likely''.

Around 36 million chickens have been slaughtered since the government admitted in January that poultry farms had been hit by the virus. The outbreak in 41 provinces has severely hit the 1.2 billion baht poultry industry. To declare Thailand free of the virus would be meaningful for its number-one export in Asia and number four in the world. The state has set aside 858 million baht to compensate poultry farmers.

--Bangkok Post 2004-04-07