BANGKOK, Oct. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The Thai government has conceded that bird flu reporting failures eventually led to Thailand's first human death from the disease this year.

    Bang-orn Benpad became the nation's 13th known avian influenza victim last week after coming into contact with birds from an infected poultry farm.

    Birds had been dying at the Kanchanaburi province farm, but not enough to trigger an official report of a suspected outbreak.

    Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phinij Jarusombat said Bang-orn's death had in part resulted from authorities' failure to report suspected outbreaks unless a minimum of five percent of birds had died at any given place.

    Phinij said as a consequence, provincial governors would now be obliged to report within 12 hours the mysterious death of even a single chicken. Such alerts would go directly to Agriculture Minister Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, or the deputy prime minister himself.

    Although the Livestock Department was in charge of measures against bird flu, provincial governors were now expected to be far more active in helping contain the epidemic.

    Interior Minister Kongsak Wanthana said restrictions would be applied to the relocation of poultry, including fighting cocks, in order to contain the spread of the disease in the provinces. Enditem