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Published on January 30, 2008

"It is very dangerous when owners carry an ill chicken in order to give it medicine. If the fowl is infected with bird flu, the owners will contract the disease too," the ministry's deputy permanent secretary Dr Paijit Warachit said yesterday.

He warned people against touching dead chickens. "If the birds die suspiciously, do not sell their meat or eat it," Paijit said.

The latest bird-flu cases have been found in Phichit and Nakhon Sawan, and lab tests are ongoing to determine if bird flu was behind the mass deaths of fowl in other provinces, including Nong Khai.

Surachai Seekata, 38, was arrested in Phichit on Monday night for transporting chicken meat from Nakhon Sawan to Phichit.

Once an area is declared an outbreak zone, the movement of fowl there is banned and offenders face legal action.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesman Thanom Onket-phon said there were no reports of bird-flu infections in the capital.

"But we will closely monitor the situation and strictly inspect the safety standards at slaughterhouses," he said.

The Nation