Thailand is unlikely to declare itself bird flu-free, after authorities detected yet another outbreak of the virus in chickens in a northern province, a livestock department official said yesterday.

　　The latest affected area in Uttaradit province, 420 kilometers north of Bangkok, will be monitored for 21 days from last Monday, when poultry there was culled, said Yukol Limlamthong, director general of Department of Livestock Development.

　　He didn't give further details of the latest outbreak. Earlier this month, the government said avian influenza had re-emerged in two other provinces.

　　Yukol also said Thailand probably will not announce that it is bird flu-free, because other countries that had made such a declaration later found more cases of the disease.

　　Late last month, Vietnam said it was free of the disease, despite warnings from international health and agricultural officials that such a move was premature.

　　(The Associated Press)