Customs checks for chickens
The Agriculture Ministry yesterday prohibited the movement and trade of all poultry along the country's borders in an attempt to contain the spread of bird flu.
Deputy permanent secretary of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry Yukol Limlamthong said the ban was to bring back public confidence, which was shaken again when the H5N1 virus reappeared this year in Phitsanulok's Tambon Plai Chumphon. He said he had asked for collaboration from the Customs Department to closely monitor trade and poultry movements along borders. On January 15, the of Livestock Development Department declared Plai Chumphon to be a bird-flu infected area, making it the first tambon to be found with the virus this year. Yukol insisted that from more than 20,000 samples of poultry sent for laboratory tests at the department, only samples from Plai Chumphon were found positive for the H5N1 virus. "The situation is not as bad as reported in the media. There's nothing to worry about," he said. Yukol, a former head of the LDD, insisted the situation was under control and that livestock officials had culled infected chicken and those in nearby areas. He said the virus would not spread to other districts. The Nation
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