A truck carrying some 11,000 ducklings suspected to be infected with avian influenza virus has been seized in Thailand's central Nakhon Pathom province, local press reported Friday.

The ducklings were being smuggled from a farm in Suphan Buri's Song Phi Nong district and headed to Maha Sarakham when it was intercepted by police, Pailert Sukcharoenpong, head of the provincial livestock office Nakhon Pathom was quoted by The Nation newspaper as saying.

The 2-day-old ducklings were immediately culled and buried to halt the potential spread of the deadly H5N1 virus as Song Phi Nong district has recently been declared as an infected area, said Pailert.

The truck was disinfected and its driver was charged with transporting animal without an official permission.

Also on Thursday, about 200 chickens were found dead in Kanchanaburi's Phanom Thuan district, a declared disease quarantine area. The specimen of the dead chicken have been sent to a research center for lab test.

Starting from early October, the bird flu virus has been detected in several central provinces such as Kamphaeng Phet and Nakhon Pathom.

Source: Xinhua