Authorities to urgently stop outbreaks of seasonal fowl diseases

BANGKOK, June 21 (TNA) - Livestock authorities in the Lower Thai North have vowed to urgently stop current outbreaks of deadly diseases among poultry in the region that have been diagnosed not to be any strain of fatal bird flu, but rainy season-borne fowl contagions. Chamlong Ariyachak, Chief livestock official of Sukhothai Province, told journalists that she and other authorities concerned are scheduled to hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss proactive measures to urgently stop the seasonal fowl outbreaks in Sukhothai, Kampaengpetch, Uthai Thani, Pichit, Uttaradit , Phitsanulok and Nakhon Sawan Provinces. Citing results from recent official laboratory tests,Chamlong affirmed that the current fowl outbreaks are not caused by any strain of the deadly avian flu, but caused by two rainy season-borne diseases including infectious bronchitis in poultry and fowl cholera. The chief provincial livestock official suggested local farmers and households to keep their fowl flocks warm in close and hygienic raising houses, rather than the open-raising system, to prevent new outbreaks. For already sick poultry, the chief provincial livestock official advised local farmers and households to immediately separate them from their flocks, have them vaccinated and report to community leaders or relevant authorities in their respective areas within 12 hours for timely disinfectant spraying operations. The chief provincial livestock official said infectious dead poultry must be properly buried, not be dumped into local waterways to prevent more outbreaks and to quickly put the current spreading under control. The chief provincial livestock official's remarks followed the deaths of over 1,000 infectious poultry in Sukhothai alone over the past couple of months, when there have been frequent downpours in Thailand with inundations in some heavy rain-hit areas. (TNA)