The caretaker cabinet also approved the creation of "chicken death squads" responsible for terminating infected birds as well as all poultry within a one-kilometer radius of any future bird flu outbreak site.

Quoted by Bangkok-based newspaper The Nation, Surapong said the declaration would make it easier for government to provide compensation to farmers whose birds must be killed.

Caretaker Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said the government will give tests on chickens in an area within five kilometers from an outbreak site to check the spread of bird flu. Four new mobile labs will be set up across the northern and central provinces to conduct the tests.

The government also issued strict measures for another 30 provinces, requiring vehicles and equipment to be disinfected before traveling between farms.

Thailand has reported two human fatalities from bird flu this year, both in northern provinces.