Channel NewsAsia 7 Apr 08;
SEOUL: South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo called on Monday for intensive efforts to stop the spread of bird flu after a second outbreak was confirmed to be the deadly H5N1 strain.
"Thorough steps are needed to stop it from spreading to other areas," Han told a meeting of senior officials.
Quarantine officials confirmed that the H5N1 virus caused the death of ducks at a farm at Jeongeup, 250 kilometres (156 miles) south of Seoul.
All birds at the farm have been slaughtered and buried, with movements of poultry within a 10-kilometre radius of the affected farm restricted.
The agriculture ministry said meat from 30,000 birds held at a butchering facility in Naju, 60 kilometres south of Jeongeup, had also been destroyed.
"The incident in Jeongeup is a source of concern because the owner did not report the outbreak until 6,500 birds were sent to the Naju butchering facility," said Kim Chang-Seob, its chief veterinary officer.
He said that because of risks of contamination, the butchering facility had been closed and the use of the five trucks used to transport birds had been halted.
"All 13 poultry farms visited by the trucks and farms within a one kilometre radius of roads used by these vehicles have been put under close observation, with blood samples taken to check for infection," Kim said.
The farm in Jeongeup is 30 kilometres south of Gimje where a chicken farm was hit by H5N1 last week. Some 270,000 chickens at five farms, the affected one and four others within a 500 metre radius, were slaughtered and buried along with all eggs in the area.
The outbreaks have raised fears that bird flu may be spreading to other areas in North Jeolla province, home to the nation's poultry industry.
Ministry officials said they were also investigating a suspected case at a farm in Gobu, just three kilometres from the farm in Jeongeup.
A duck farm in Sunchang, some 30 kilometres from Jeongeup, has also been under quarantine after it reported the death of birds. Officials were trying to determine if the deaths at Gobu and Sunchang were caused by the H5N1 virus.
South Korea reported seven cases of H5N1 infection between November 2006 and March last year, with poultry exports to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere temporarily suspended.
But last June the World Organisation for Animal Health classified the country as free from the disease.
H5N1 has killed more than 230 people worldwide since late 2003. No South Koreans have contracted the disease.
Experts fear the virus, which is usually spread directly from birds to humans, could mutate into a form easily transmissible between people and spark a global pandemic.- AFP/so
Bird flu spreads in South Korea
Channel NewsAsia 9 Apr 08;
SEOUL: Bird flu outbreaks are spreading in South Korea despite mass culls and other efforts to contain the deadly virus, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.
More suspected cases were reported at three duck farms in the southern county of Jeongeup, 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Seoul, bringing to eight the number of confirmed or suspected outbreaks this month.
"Anti-epidemic measures were strengthened in Jeongeup," where 150,000 ducks at nine farms were to be culled and buried starting Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement.
It also said an outbreak previously reported at a duck farm in Jeongeup was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, the third such confirmation.
Since this year's first case of bird flu was confirmed at a chicken farm in Gimje, next to Jeongeup, some 244,000 ducks and chickens have been killed and buried to prevent the spread of the disease.
The ministry has also imposed restrictions on the movement of birds, people and vehicles in Jeongeup.
South Korea reported seven cases of H5N1 infection between November 2006 and March last year, resulting in the temporary suspension of poultry exports to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere.
But last June the World Organisation for Animal Health classified the country as free from avian influenza.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 230 people worldwide since late 2003. No South Koreans have contracted the virus.
Experts fear the virus, which is usually spread directly from birds to humans, could mutate into a form easily transmissible between people and spark a deadly global pandemic. - AFP/ac
