According to health officials in Thailand another 46 people are under observation after developing symptoms similar to bird flu.

Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat says the 46 people were detected in 16 provinces over the weekend and 96 others are still waiting for test results on whether they had the deadly bird-flu virus.

This new outbreak of the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus is Thailand’s second this year which has already killed a 27-year-old man in the northern province of Uthai Thani earlier in the month.

The presence of the bird flu virus has been confirmed in several provinces across the country and 16 people have died to date from the virus.

The previous fatality a week earlier in Phichit, prompted officials to conduct a large-scale cull of infected chickens.

The Thai government has allocated funding for 100 quarantine wards for suspected bird flu patients to be built in provinces worst hit by the virus such as Phichit, Uthai Thani, Kamphaeng Phet and Nakhon Sawan.

The wards will isolate patients from others in order to contain the spread of the disease and should be ready in three months.

There are plans for every hospital in the future to have an isolation ward for observing patients suspected of being infected with bird flu and as quarantine areas for patients with other contagious diseases.

Authorities say a 24-year-old man from Samut Prakan admitted to hospital in Nonthaburi yesterday with bird flu symptoms had reportedly eaten under-cooked chicken.

A 66-year-old woman from Nakhon Ratchasima admitted to the hospital following a visit to Bangkok had reportedly been in an area where chickens had recently died mysteriously.

The results of laboratory tests on the two patients by the Department of Medical Sciences are expected today.