Bangkok: Thailand Thursday placed nine northern provinces under a special watch for the deadly bird flu after the disease was detected in two districts in the region recently.

Health minister Paichai Varachit said the decision to activate special monitoring was made at a meeting of ministry officials early Thursday.

As winter begins in most parts of Thailand, health officials Oct 28 detected the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a dead fowl in Thung Salium district of Sukhothai province.

Also, a number of birds were found dead from unknown causes in Nong Chang district of Uthai Thani province recently.

Every hospital in the nine provinces are also instructed to provide treatment without waiting for laboratory tests to patients suspected to have contracted the infection or live in areas where birds died for unknown causes without waiting for laboratory tests, said Paichit.

 

Source : ians