Thailand to host bird flu talks as virus hits Indonesia

ASIA'S bird flu crisis deepened yesterday as Indonesia said "millions" of its chickens had died from the illness, making it the seventh nation to confirm the deadly disease.

Thailand, set to host international talks on the epidemic this week, also confirmed the deadly H5N1 strain, which has killed six people in Vietnam, had spread to a second province despite mass poultry culls.

Meanwhile, China raised its defences against the disease by banning poultry imports from Thailand and Cambodia.

An Indonesian government spokesman said 4.7 million birds have died since November from a combination of Newcastle disease and what he called Type A avian influenza. About 60% of the birds died from Newcastle disease.

"The government will not cover it up that Indonesia has now been infected by the avian influenza which has attacked millions of poultry in Indonesia," said the agriculture ministry's director for animal husbandry, Sofyan Sudrajat, according to Antara news agency.

It was not known whether the H5N1 strain was present in Indonesia. Japan, Cambodia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam have all reported the strain, while Taiwan has detected only the weaker H5N2. Millions of chickens have been slaughtered in those countries.

No deaths have been confirmed from H5N1 outside of Vietnam, although it is suspected of killing one Thai man.

About 650 Thai troops were ordered to slaughter all chickens in Suphan Buri province, where the virus was first detected, while culling was to intensify in adjoining Kanchanaburi, which borders Myanmar and where H5N1 was also confirmed yesterday.

Thailand's premier, battling accusations his government covered up the disease before admitting its presence Friday, conceded officials had suspected the virus was infecting chickens.

"We suspected it for about a couple of weeks," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said, insisting even though the results had not been confirmed in recent weeks, "we have acted as if it was the bird flu".

When asked why the public was not informed of the threat after Thai birds began dying in November, he said: "When it is not the bird flu, how can you tell them it is bird flu?"

Thaksin, who travelled to Suphan Buri to meet some of the thousands of farmers whose livelihoods have been devastated by the outbreak, refused to take responsibility for the extent of the disease's spread.

"Let's blame it on bad luck. The government is finding a solution to help you. We must cooperate," he said.

Health officials in Myanmar said they were still allowing Thai poultry to enter but were closely monitoring border crossings.

"We have asked health and customs officials at our borders to keep a close check on imports of small chicks and eggs ... especially from neighbouring countries where the virus has been detected," said Khin Swe Win, of the Animal Breeding and Husbandry Department.

All affected nations have been invited by Thailand to attend ministerial talks in Bangkok on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said.

"The meeting is to draft consistent prevention measures for affected countries. These countries can't work alone because this is a cross-border issue," Surakiart said late Saturday. China, the EU, Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation will send officials, he added.