Bird flu teams inspect high-risk villages in Uttaradit

UTTARADIT, Dec 21 (TNA) – Officials and volunteers on Sunday inspected Pichai district in the lower northern province of Uttaradit, where poultry farming is important for villager income, to scan for the possible reappearance of the bird flu virus. Bird flu inspection teams led by the head of the provincial livestock office, Panom Meesiripan, started their operation in Pichai district as poultry farming in more intensive here than in other districts. Pichai district is also considered a high risk area as it adjoins Sukhothai province where health officers detected the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus in dead fowl in late October. Mr. Panom said that the bird flu inspection team found that villagers still adopted an inappropriate way of poultry farming, leaving chickens or ducks to move about freely. In the cold season, poultry are able to be infected bird flu virus easily. The liverstock service chief said that three bird flu operations teams would inspect every village for information on epidemic diseases in poultry and keep inspecting and disinfecting farms in every village continuously for six months, until May next year. He emphasised that villagers were told to inform officials immediately when poultry deaths occur from unknown causes. Meanwhile, nearby Phichit province also keeps close watch in its 12 districts although bird flu has not been found in the province since 2006. Phichit public health official Dr. Prajak Wattanakul admitted that the cool weather is a factor which could trigger the potentially deadly virus in the area. Dr. Prajak however reassured the public that if bird flu virus reappears, the province will be able to quickly control the disease as the preventative measures against the avian influenza have been continuously implemented.