Senior officials have met urgently to review the cause and circumstances of the death of a five-year-old boy due to avian influenza last week, following a belated diagnosis of his medical condition, the Thai News Agency reported Sunday.

Saturday's meeting of officials from health and animal husbandry agencies -- the Livestock Development Department (LDD) and the Disease Control Department -- was ordered by LDD director general Yukol Limlamthong to investigate the death of the deceased child from Nakhon Nayok province.

The boy died last Wednesday after contracting the bird flu virus, making him the country's 14th fatal victim of bird flu this year. It was found that five of the six chickens raised by the boy's family had died of an unknown cause.

The investigation will determine the cause of the chicken's death. All were reportedly registered last month and were disease-free at the time of the check-ups.

In an attempt to curb the often fatal disease, Yukol said that volunteers are required to visit all homes and farms in the village to inspect chickens and other poultry raised by them to certify they are clear of avian flu symptoms.

Previously, some 800,000 volunteers nationwide would receive reports on the epidemic from villagers.