Some 236 egg hens died on a chicken farm in Sri Chiang Mai district last Saturday, which prompted local officials to cull the remaining 1,764 hens at the farm, plus 96 fowls "nearby".

Laboratory test results on samples from the Nong Khai hens confirmed yesterday that they had the birdflu virus, Pirom said.

Officials then set up 24hour checkpoints to strictly prevent poultry being illegally shifted out of the area, and searches were undertaken for more infections - both in humans and birds - within a fivekilometre radius, he said.

Pirom said officials had so far found two outbreaks - the outbreak in Nong Khai and another at Phitsanulok's Muang district on January 15.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said birdfluwatch committees were assigned to check 15 "risky" districts - which either had an H5N1 outbreak previously or many poultry farms.

He said city officials would hold a meeting on Friday with 58 slaughterhouses to ensure killing of chickens and other birds is being conducted in a clean and proper manner.

Public Health permanent secretary Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot, meanwhile, said no human birdflu case had been reported since this year's outbreaks. Of 126 suspected patients, all were cleared but for 13 people who have results pending.

Some 17 people - all of who had contact with sick birds - have died of bird flu in Thailand since the epidemic was first detected here in 2003.

Disease Control Department head Dr Thawat Suntrajarn said he would announce redzone disaster areas, which are subject to tough measures, if bird flu outbreaks were detected in more areas.

LtGen Mongkol Jivasantikarn, head of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), said a clinical trial by Siriraj Hospital of the new GPO A Flu drug on 30 patients had shown a good result. The drug had shown the same bioequivalence quality as the imported antiinfluenza antiviral oseltamivir.

He said the GPO would submit the results when it registers the drug with the Food and Drug Administration, which should be completed in 15 days.

Mongkol said the GPO had enough raw materials to produce up to 800,000 tablets, and could produce up to 400,000 tablets of the drug a day, but production depended a decision by the Disease Control Department on how many tablets were needed. The drug was valid for use for up two years, so there was no need to produce too much, as the materials could kept for future need, he said.

The Nation