THAILAND’S health officials had suspected the avian influenza outbreak as early as two months ago but they were too chicken to tell the authorities. To have squawked then could have risked condemnation by the Government and the 52 billion baht (RM5bil) poultry industry.
They could have been easily accused of causing panic or even economic sabotage. The country, after all, is the world’s fourth largest exporter of poultry. Up to last week, it had been shipping out some 550,000 tonnes of chicken, mostly to Japan and the European Union (EU).
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
