Thai authorities have uncovered a new bird flu outbreak in the northern city of Chiang Mai at a farm attached to a university, an unidentified official at Thailand's Livestock Department said.
The university had notified authorities that several chickens, geese, ducks and other birds have fallen ill and died this week, prompting the culling of some 1,000 poultry inside and near the Chiang Mai University campus.
"The test results both in Chiang Mai and at the Regional Veterinarian Research Institute have confirmed they were bird flu on May 24, after all poultry had been culled," the official said.
A mandatory 21-day surveillance period has been imposed on the farm, he added.
Thailand slaughtered at least 36 mln chickens and other poultry and slapped quarantine regulations on affected zones earlier this year, in an effort to halt the spread of avian influenza, which hit 41 of its 76 provinces including Chiang Mai.
Thailand, whose billion-dollar poultry industry was decimated by the outbreak, has planned several times to declare itself free of bird flu, following an initial wave of outbreaks in January, but was been forced to backtrack when more cases were announced.
Earlier this month, Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said the country had no more bird flu outbreak area "red zones", but stopped short of declaring the kingdom free of the virus.
He has given farms which passed the mandatory quarantine period the green light to begin restocking their chickens, but bans on the import of Thai chicken are still being observed by the European Union, which is due to review its stance in August.
The government has reportedly put aside approximately 2.5 bln baht to compensate farmers affected by the outbreak.AFX European Focus:
