South Korea heightens bird flu monitoring

The government is seeking to enhance monitoring and decontamination measures across South Korea to prevent outbreaks of bird flu as migratory birds start arriving in the country.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MFAFF) said recent outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Southeast Asia have raised the need to warn poultry farmers of possible dangers in the coming weeks.

Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar all reported bird flu outbreaks this year. As many birds in these countries spend March and April in South Korea before they migrate further north, there is a chance of AH1N1 flu virus spreading to local chickens and ducks.

"Stepped up monitoring have been issued for 41 bird sanctuaries in the country and the 11 areas where bird flu cases have been confirmed in the past," Lee Sang-soo, head of the MFAFF animal health division said.

Lee said particular emphasis will be placed on monitoring migratory birds in Heuksan and Hong islands in the Yellow Sea which is a favorite stop-over for birds flying north to places like Siberia and Manchuria.

Local farmers, meanwhile, have been told to increase regular decontamination around their chicken coops twice a week from once a week at present, with state quarantine authorities to keep close tabs of vehicles that move birds in the country. These vehicles have been cited for spreading the disease in the past.

MFAFF is also distributing emergency checklists on how to detect HPAI so they can be quickly reported to authorities.