Phitsanulok livestock officials take anal swabs of poultry at a farm in Muang district yesterday as authorities monitor the situation in a bid to prevent the spread of bird flu.

Bird-flu vaccine looks set to become a supplementary measure in the country's fight to stem the spread of the deadly disease.

A committee met yesterday evening to decide how to use the vaccine on fowl.

The panel is tasked with determining the best way to tackle Thailand's bird-flu problems.

"Most committee members agree that the bird-flu vaccine should be used as a supplementary measure," Livestock Development Department's director general Yukol Limlamthong said, before the meeting began at 6pm.

He said the committee planned to clearly explain the circumstances in which the bird-flu vaccine should be used.

It also wanted to explain how the vaccine would be used, how relevant officials and equipment would be prepared for use of the vaccine, and how much budget would be needed.

"The committee will have to prepare measures that will be taken after use of vaccine stops too," Yukol added.

He said the committee would forward their recommendations to Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thira Sutabutra and the Cabinet.

"We will need to review the situation before going ahead with use of the vaccine," Yukol said.

Earlier this month, bird-flu infections were detected at a duck farm in Phitsanulok's Muang district.

Official use of bird-flu vaccine has been debated previously in Thailand, but authorities have so far resisted using it because of a range of concerns, including doubts over the effectiveness of vaccines currently available.

There have also been concerns over the wisdom of widespread use of a vaccine for a disease that is endemic in the region and may mutate to a point where drugs used to fight the virus are no longer effective.

Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan have yet to completely control bird-flu in their countries despite use of a vaccine.

Interior Minister Aree Wongse-araya yesterday instructed all provincial governors to closely monitor the situation in their areas in a bid to prevent the disease spreading.

Aree threatened to take action against any governor who failed to do undertake these duties properly.

Interior Ministry permanent secretary Pongphayom Wasaputi said the provincial governors should work closely with the Public Health Ministry, and the Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Ministry in a bid to stop the disease spreading.

Public Health Ministry spokesman Dr Suphan Srithamma said people could protect themselves against bird-flu risks by following three simple rules.

"Firstly, they should eat heat-cooked food. In particular, they must avoid half-cooked chicken and eggs," he said.

"Secondly, they should use serving spoons when sharing topping dishes with others.

"Thirdly, they should wash their hands with water and soap before their meals," he said.

Suphan said the Health Service Support Department was now training about 800,000 health volunteers for door-to-door campaigns to educate local people about bird flu.

"We are confident that we will be able to prevent the bird-flu from infecting people this time," he said.

Anyone with queries or information about the bird flu could call the bird-flu "war room" on 02 590-3333 round the clock.

In Suphan Buri's Muang district, local people expressed concern that thousands of Asian open-bill birds in their areas could pose a risk to their health.

"We are living in fear. We tried setting off firecrackers but the birds were not scared," Wiwek Prancharoen, a 52-year-old resident, said.

Local people had to buy bottled water to drink instead of collecting rainfall, he said, because of concern that the birds could spread the deadly virus via water tanks.

In Lop Buri, local livestock officials arrested three men, separately, for trying to shift flocks of ducks from the upper part of the province to areas further south.

The suspects confessed that they wanted to move their ducks in a bid to avoid mass culling, which is being undertaken to prevent the spread of bird flu.