BANGKOK, Jan. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak announced Wednesday that 12 additional provinces were declared bird flu epidemic zones as new infected cases had been found in farms there.

    The authorities would implement strict measures to check the spread of the disease, including killing all poultry within a five-kilometer radius of areas where infected birds had been detected and prohibiting transporting chickens within a 50-kilometer radius,he said.

    So far Thailand confirmed that 25 provinces, particularly in the lower northern region, had been infected with bird flu virus.

    The first confirmed cases of avian flu were found in the central province of Suphan Buri on Jan. 23, while later cases werediscovered in the nearby province of Kanchanaburi at the same day.

    According to local report Wednesday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had slaughtered 110,000 chickens in four districts in the city's east since last December after 50,000 fowls were found dead.

    Natamon Tavisin, deputy mayor of Bangkok, confirmed Wednesday that some chickens died from bird flu in two districts of the city-- Benggu and Chaduchak, and said the authorities would declare thetwo districts bird flu zones after a meeting scheduled to be held today.

    This afternoon, Thailand will host international talks here on the epidemic which has spread to poultry in Cambodia, Japan, SouthKorea, Vietnam, Indonesia and other Asian countries and regions. Enditem