BANGKOK, Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Thai Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said Monday that eight more provinces would be declared bird flu epidemic zones as new infected cases have been found in farms of the provinces, the state-run Channel 9 reported.

    He told reporters that from about 40,000 samples, laboratory tests indicated that some chickens, ducks, quails and fighting cocks from eight provinces including Ayutthaya, Singburi, Chainat,Kamphaengphet, Phichet, Sukhothai, Uthaithani and Phitsnulok were infected by the H5N1 virus.

    Including the eight, a total of 10 provinces in Thailand have been affected by the virus, particularly in the lower northern region, he said, adding that all the 10 provinces would be declared epidemic zones.

    The first confirmed cases of avian flu were found in the central province of Suphan Buri, while later cases were discovered in the nearby province of Kanchanaburi.

    Somsak noted that the officials of the ministry would cooperate with soldiers to use strict measures to stop the disease spreading further.

    Under the strict measures, all poultry within a five-kilometer radius of areas where infected birds have been detected would be killed, and chickens within a 50-kilometer radius would be banned from being transported.

    The report said about 10 million chickens have been killed so far in the first two provinces confirmed bird flu epidemic zone.

    The Thai government announced on Jan. 23 that the country had found bird flu cases and the virus had not only spread among millions of chickens in farms but also infected to two boys, one of whom died of bird flu Monday morning.

    Thailand will on Wednesday host an international meeting on the epidemic which has spread to poultry in Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and some other Asian countries and regions. Enditem