# 1940
Since my twin brother lives (quite happily) in Thailand, I keep a close eye on that nation's bird flu status. After a disastrous slow start in 2004 and 2005, Thailand has put together an aggressive surveillance and bird flu containment program.
Their last reported human H5N1 infection was in August of 2006.
Today, after 3 months with no new poultry or duck outbreaks reported, they've declared themselves free of the bird flu virus.
As any long time bird flu watcher knows, this most-welcomed status is likely to be short lived, as the virus has a nasty habit of turning up again in nations that have declared themselves free of the disease.
May 2, 2008
BANGKOK - THAILAND on Friday declared itself free of bird flu after no outbreaks of the deadly virus were reported over the past 90 days.
The agriculture ministry's Livestock Development Department, which made the announcement, has also launched a two-month nationwide campaign to eradicate the disease.
'As of now Thailand has not reported any new case of bird flu virus for 90 days, therefore it's considered Thailand is free from bird flu under the OIE,' the department said, referring to standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
Thailand's last outbreak of avian influenza was on January 25 among chickens on a farm in the northern province of Phichit.
Since its first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in January 2004, Thailand has confirmed 25 human cases, 17 of which were fatal. The last human fatality was in August 2006.
