The Thai government expects more recurrences of the bird flu virus that killed eight people earlier this year because wild birds are carrying it, officials said on Thursday.
But they changed their minds again about how to deal with fresh outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 virus confirmed a day earlier.
On Wednesday, top Agriculture Ministry officials said there would be no culling of chickens on farms within a 0.6 mile radius of two infected farms as prescribed by the OIE, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.
They were overruled later in the day at an emergency meeting of three ministries, but on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said he had restored the original decision.
“We do not need to cull chickens within a one-kilometer radius of the affected farms. We have been able to contain the outbreak, so we do not need to do that,” he told reporters at an affected farm north of Bangkok.
“Instead, we will do random checks at all farms within a five-kilometer radius of the affected farms. We will only destroy chickens at those farms found to have the bird flu virus.”
Somsak insisted the two outbreaks near Ayutthya and Pathum Thani were under control, but said he could not rule out further infections.
“The latest outbreak in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani will not be the last. It could happen again,” he said.
Evidence of fraud
His deputy, Newin Chidchob, said that was because researchers found the virus, which also killed 16 Vietnamese in an epidemic which hit much of Asia early this year, was being carried by wild storks. Newin said he believed the Ayutthya outbreak had been caused by the storks.
The epidemic earlier this year, in which 100 million fowl died or were culled, was blamed on migratory birds.
It also resulted in governments paying large sums in compensation to farmers who lost their flocks, especially in Thailand, then the world’s fourth largest exporter of chickens which paid above the then market price.
But Newin revealed on Thursday that investigations had turned up evidence of fraud by eight farmers in Ayutthya province who claimed compensation for unaffected chickens certified as virus hit by local officials so they could claim the higher price.
“We will file criminal charges against them,” Newin said, referring to both farmers and officials.
