The latest outbreak of bird flu has reached two more provinces in Thailand including the capital Bangkok, bringing the total infected provinces to 15, local press said in Bangkok on Friday.

Bird flu infection has been confirmed in the capital's three outer districts Min Buri, Don Muang and Nong Chok and the northeastern Nong Khai province, livestock department chief Yukol Limlamthong was quoted by local newspaper The Nation as saying.

Nine other provinces are on the watch list for suspected cases of bird flu infection.

On July 6, Thai government confirmed reemergence of the bird-flu virus at a chicken farm in central Ayutthaya province, marking the second round of bird flu outbreak in one year.

Thailand, which culled an estimated 50-60 million birds in the first round of the epidemic earlier this year, has come up with a series of measures to deal with the new outbreak.

The livestock department was considering using a non-lethal chemical spray to chase away wild birds from selected zones in a bid to contain the flu, said the department's deputy director-general Chaweewan Liewwichak.

To prevent further spread of disease, especially to humans, Thai government also urged people to report on suspicious death of birds and poultry.

Medical reports from earlier outbreak showed that bird flu patients had a history of contacting with sick birds and would not feel ill within seven days. So far, no human infection has been found in the country.

Earlier, a national committee has been set up to take care of related issues, while the government decided to carry on vaccine experiment so as to reduce the loss of poultry farmers in face of bird flu.
 
However, the European Union (EU), one of the major importers of Thailand's poultry products, has warned that it would ban all poultry imports from Thailand if the government decided to go down the route of vaccination against the virus.
 
Under the EU's regulation, vaccination against bird flu should only be implemented in countries with a serious outbreak, which could result in the depopulation of a large volume of poultry stocks and the slaughter of rare species of wild birds," said a Thai agricultural adviser based at the EU.
 
Meanwhile, the livestock department said reports concerning the government's support for experimenting with vaccinees had prompted the South Korea, a major importer of Thai poultry products, to impose strict inspection on shipments from Thailand.
 
A number of poultry shipments have been suspended from entering South Korea recently, causing grave damage to Thai poultry exporter, said Yukol.
 
He confirmed that more than 160,000 birds have been culled or died during the new round of outbreak.
 
The resurgence of bird flu, if allowed to continue unabated, will definitely affect the production and export sectors, which are a key driving force for the country's economic growth, Thai leading economists warned.
 
According to report of the Kasikorn Research Center, bird flu will lead to slower growth in the total export value of agro-industrial products in the country.
 
The total agro-industrial products will grow by just 6.9 percent to US$15.8 billion this year, a fraction of last year's US$14.766 billion, it said.

(Xhina News Agency July 23, 2004)