A door-to-door campaign against bird flu has been launched and 800,000 health volunteers will be sent to rural areas to educate people on how to prevent the deadly virus, Thailand's caretaker Public Health Minister Pinij Jarusombat said on Wednesday.

Pinij, now inspecting bird flu control in central Suphan Buri province, said the so-called "bird flu busters" will be sent into action in the ministry's door-to-door anti-bird flu campaign nationwide from Aug. 23 to 31 to educate the public on strict rules they must follow in order to prevent the infection and spread of bird flu.

These volunteers will distribute to the public various kinds of bird flu media materials, such as posters, pamphlets, and similar others with the message focusing on hygienic household practices, especially in relation to poultry contact.

In the first stage, the campaign will focus on at-risk areas in 30 provinces which have experienced bird flu outbreaks before, including 12 provinces in the north, 10 in the central region, seven in the northeast, and one in the south, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Prat Boonyawongwirot said on Wednesday that in the 24 hours from Tuesday morning, some 79 patients with flu-like symptoms were hospitalized in 22 provinces, quarantined and monitored for possible bird flu, awaiting laboratory tests to indicate whether they carried the deadly virus or not.

Source: Xinhua