BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai fans of cock fighting, a sport popular in both town and countryside, will have to wait to place their next bet until the bird flu epidemic is over, the government said Tuesday. Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphana said cock fighting had been banned temporarily because the birds were often taken long distances to their sand-pit arenas and might therefore spread the avian①influenza, which has now hit 10 Asian countries. The disease, responsible for at least 12 deaths in Vietnam and Thailand, was spread to southern Thailand by fighting cocks transported there from areas in the north and center where major outbreaks have occurred, she told reporters

　　曼谷：泰国政府发布暂停斗鸡公告

　　曼谷:无论在泰国的城市还是乡村地区,斗鸡都是一种很流行的比赛,但是斗鸡迷们则不得不等到禽流感结束之后再赌了,政府于本周二宣布了此事。泰国卫生部长素达拉·革育拉攀说,斗鸡已被暂时禁止,因为参与比赛的鸡往往要被带到很远的沙坑斗鸡场,因而容易传播这种禽流感,这种禽流感如今已出现在亚洲的10个国家,造成越南和泰国至少12人死亡。这种疾病就是通过把参加比赛的鸡从泰国中部与北部带到南部而传播的,当时中部与北部已经爆发了禽流感。女部长对记者们如是说道。