Thai poultry farmers urged to brace for new, more severe bird-flu strains
The Thai Department of Livestock Development has warned poultry farmers to keep a close eye on their stocks, especially now that many cases of severe bird flu have been reported in several Asian countries, including Vietnam and China.
Sorravis Thaneto, the department’s director-general, said on Friday that Thai poultry farmers should immediately report any uncommon deaths to local officials for effective disease control.
He also warned that birds dying suspiciously should not be consumed or distributed.
The World Organisation for Animal Health last year reported the discovery of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) at 5,213 locations in 61 countries, Sorravis said.
Late last month, he added, HPAI of the H5N1, H5N6, H5N2, H5N5 and H5N8 strains were reported in more than 30 countries across the globe, covering Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia.
In Asia, bird-flu instances were reported in Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
The World Health Organisation has also recently reported human H5N6 infections that led to deaths in China.
Sorravis said on Friday that the Department of Livestock Development has taken pre-emptive measures to prevent a domestic outbreak of the new bird flu strains.
Poultry farmers have also been advised to implement safety measures such as cleaning and disinfecting poultry cages regularly and keeping wild birds away from the breeding area.