Thai Agriculture Minister Dismissed Over Bird Flu

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2004-10-11

This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture
Report.

Thailand and its chicken industry
continue to deal with the effects from the spread of bird influenza.
Last week, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra replaced his
agriculture minister.

The dismissal followed an emergency meeting called by the prime
minister at the end of September. Mister Thaksin threatened to
dismiss several ministers if the avian influenza problem is not
controlled by the end of October.

The World Health Organization, however, noted that an outbreak in
Mexico in nineteen ninety-two took three years to control
completely. Thai officials admitted early this year that they had
not done enough to control the outbreak in their country.

Cases of bird flu have been reported in almost half the provinces
in Thailand. The most recent report to the World Organization for
Animal Health said forty-six more farms reported cases in the last
week of September. At least twenty-five thousand birds were
destroyed. Not only chickens have been affected, but also ducks and
other birds.

The World Health Organization said a nine-year-old girl died of
avian influenza on October third. Her death was the eleventh this
year caused by the form of virus called h-five-n-one. Thai officials
recently announced a case in which they said one person had probably
infected another with avian flu. However, that possibility was not
immediately confirmed.

Avian influenza has meant heavy economic losses for Thai
agriculture. Last year, Thailand was the biggest exporter of chicken
products in Asia. It was the fourth largest exporter in the world.
But the United States Agriculture Department says it expects Thai
chicken exports to fall by sixty percent this year. The department
estimates Thailand will export about two hundred thousand metric
tons.

On September fifteenth, the European Union extended a ban on
chicken, eggs and live birds from Thailand and nine other Asian
countries. The ban will stay in effect at least until the end of
March.

The Thai government is trying to get farmers to raise chickens in
buildings, not in open areas where wild birds could infect them.
Officials are also urging people to report any suspected cases of
bird flu, and to wear protection if they ever touch dead birds.
People are being told to put dead birds in plastic bags and give
them to health or agricultural officials.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario
Ritter. This is Gwen Outen.