The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives confirmed today that no cases of avian flu had been found among Thai pigs, pointing to strict measures to ensure that the virus did not spread from poultry to other animals.
Speaking in response to the discovery of the H5N1 virus among pigs in Indonesia. Dr. Charal Trinvuthipong, Vice Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives, stressed that Thailand had been carefully monitoring for signs of the disease in pigs, but had not found any instances of the virus.
Under Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives rules draw up during the height of the bird flu crisis, farmers are told not to raise chickens and pigs together, and to inform district livestock officials immediately they discover any animal dying of unknown causes.
The Indonesian discovery is particularly worrying, given the genetic similarities between pigs and humans, and the fact that pigs are often responsible for the spread of the human influenza virus.
Scientists are concerned that the spread of avian flu to pigs could lead to the emergence of a new and potentially fatal strain of human flu.
While other countries in the region are still struggling to control the avian flu virus, Thailand could be declared officially free of the disease within a matter of weeks.
However, the government is insisting that careful monitoring for the disease, which is hard to eradicate, will continue.
Next months agriculture and public health officials will hold a joint meeting in the country's northern province of Chiang Mai to exchange information and views on how to control the disease and prevent its spread to both animals and humans.
