Bird flu has spread to two more provinces in eastern and central Thailand, putting the number of provinces hit by the epidemic to 39, government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair told reporters on Wednesday.

Avian influenza infection cases have been reported on farms of the central province of Lopburi and the eastern province of Chonburi, Jakrapob said.

The two provinces belong to the observation zones defined by the government, where the government is closely watching the development of the disease and carrying out a series of measures to prevent it from further spreading.

So far, the outbreak of the fowl epidemic has been reported in 39 provinces out of the total 76 provinces in the country, with 32provinces in the observation status and the other seven being put into the category of quarantine zones.

In the quarantine zones, which include the country's capital of Bangkok, all poultry are required to be culled within a 5-kilometer radius of areas and birds within a 50-kilometer radius were banned to be transported.

While the Thai government endeavored to put the situation under control, one more patient was confirmed dying of the avian influenza virus on Tuesday. The United Nations Food and Organization experts warned that the disease was far more than under control.

Thailand have culled about 27 million chickens on some 39,195 farms in the affected provinces since last November to curb the spread of the disease.

However, experts warned that the forecast rainfall this week might impede the efforts to put down the epidemic.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2004)