mrsquirrel
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
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 Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:57 am Post subject: Bird flu spreads in South Korea |
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Bird flu spreads in South Korea
SEOUL (Thomson Financial) - South Korea confirmed Sunday the fourth outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu this month, despite the culling of more than 1 million poultry and other efforts to contain the deadly virus.
The Agriculture Ministry said it had confirmed an H5N1 case at a farm in Yeongam, 380 km (235 miles) south of Seoul.
'The latest outbreak involved the 'highly-virulent' H5N1 virus for the fourth time,' said an official of the ministry who is handling the case.
Six other cases of H5 bird flu -- but not the H5N1 strain -- have been detected in the same area of southwestern South Korea, ministry officials said.
The ministry is awaiting results from 18 more samples, officials said.
The authorities have culled 1.3 million chickens and ducks in and around infected farms in the Jeolla provinces in the south, a hub of the country's livestock industry.
They have also imposed restrictions on the movement of birds, people and vehicles in the region, which reported this year's first outbreak in early April.
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 the disease.
The H5N1 strain has killed more than 230 people worldwide since late 2003. No South Koreans have contracted the disease. |
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