Thailand has reported two new outbreaks of deadly bird flu virus, as officials at the World Health Organization have urged all countries with reported outbreaks to immediately send in tissue samples for testing.
Thai officials have confirmed four bird-flu outbreaks this week, amid indications that the virus is becoming more widespread among poultry flocks as well as a greater risk to humans.
World Health Organization officials say they need tissue samples from countries with suspected outbreaks to see if they contain the same strain that caused a major flu outbreak across mush of Asia earlier this year.
They have also warned the rapidly changing virus may become capable of spreading from person to person directly, making it a much more serious health problem.