Thailand's central province of Ayutthaya has been put under bird flu surveillance following the mass deaths of free-range ducks in its Bang Pahan district, local media said on Saturday.

More than 1,500 ducks were culled by local livestock officials on Friday after 93 of the birds in the same flock died on Thursday from a still-undetermined cause, the Bangkok Post said.

The owner said the ducks were raised in a paddy field which was also a feeding ground of water birds Dead duck samples were collected and sent for lab testing.

Seven duck raisers in the district have fallen ill with flu- like symptoms. Also, a villager who helped bury the dead ducks was admitted to Bang Pahan hospital after he developed a high fever and sore throat. They are now on the watch list of the provincial public health office.

The Livestock Development has listed Ayutthaya as one of the areas prone to bird flu. Poultry raised in the province were found to be in poor health following severe flooding late last year. The floods also increased the risk of an outbreak of animal disease, officials said.

Nopporn Kaewkarn, chief of the provincial livestock office, said movements of free-range ducks from the neighboring province of Suphan Buri to Ayutthaya had increased the possibility of a fresh bird flu outbreak in the province.

According to him, Suphan Buri farmers always bring their ducks to roam paddy fields in Ayutthaya after the harvest season so they could feed on fallen seed and grain.

Ayutthaya imposed a ban on fowl movements from Suphan Buri since Friday as checkpoints have been set up along roads linking the two provinces to prevent such movements, said the report.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry Friday reported that six villagers from Plai Chumpol sub-district, in northern Phitsanulok province, where a fresh bird flu outbreak was confirmed on Monday, have been put on the bird flu watch list.

Source: Xinhua