The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in the Thai northeast bordering Laos, prompting culling of 310,000 hens after the virus killed a teenager elsewhere in the country last week, the Agriculture Ministry said yesterday.
"The lab results confirmed last night chickens from a village in Nakohn Panom Province have died of bird flu," Vice Agriculture Minister Charal Trinwuthipong said.
Charal said the outbreak in Nakohn Panom, 740km northeast of Bangkok, might be caused by H5N1-infected egg trays taken from "the other side" of the border, in an apparent reference to Laos.
"These egg merchants were too lazy to swap eggs from their trays to those of their customers.' They just swapped the trays and that's how the disease spread to the village," he said.
Deputy Agriculture and Coop-eratives Minister Adisorn Piengkes told the Thai News Agency that, "To prevent a further outbreak, more than 300,000 chickens in 78 farms here must be slaughtered within 24 hours."
The Mekong River separates Nakorn Phanom from Laos, which last week confirmed an outbreak of avian influenza among its poultry.
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