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BANGKOK: Thailand's north, where many live and work with poultry, is the epicentre of the most recent bird flu outbreak in the Kingdom.
However, areas in the capital Bangkok where birds are sold or slaughtered are also affected by the outbreak.
The mass poultry cull and human deaths due to bird flu in Thailand have taken place far from Bangkok, but the effects of the disease can still be felt in the Thai capital.
Though the public is largely aware of how the H5N1 virus is contracted and spread and understand that thoroughly cooked poultry is safe, fears remain.
This has affected business in this wet market in the Sam Yan district, since bird flu first hit the Kingdom in 2003.
A poultry seller said she buys her birds from a slaughterhouse where government regulations ensure hygiene standards.
But for some customers, that assurance is not enough.
"My sales have been cut in half since the first outbreak of bird flu. Fifty percent of my income disappeared," she said
Fears that migrating wild birds could spread the virus to pets have hit Bangkok's Chatuchak Market, but some shop owners who specialise in birds say worries are largely exaggerated.
"Some customers were afraid to buy birds during the first outbreak. But now, only 5 to 10 percent of the customers ask questions or seem afraid of bird flu. When the bad news about bird flu was all over the papers, I feared for my business, but customers still came to buy," said Sangwan Yohannoh.
This shop owner registered with the authorities and gave an inventory of all the birds he sold, after the first outbreak, but there has been no such requirement this time around.
Still some people will not report sick birds for fear of getting into trouble themselves or losing their prized fighting cocks.
Thai authorities say that a revised policy to combat bird flu is currently in the works. The plan is expected to last 3 to 5 years and will include poultry vaccinations as an added measure of prevention. - CNA /dt
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