April 10, 2008
 
South Korea's agriculture ministry admits bird flu on rise
 

Despite mass slaughter and efforts to control bird flu, the disease is rapidly spreading in South Korea, admits the agriculture ministry on Wednesday (April 9).

More cases were reported at three duck farms in the southern county of Jeongeup, 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Seoul, bringing to eight the number of confirmed or suspected outbreaks this month.

In a statement, the ministry said anti-epidemic measures were strengthened in Jeongeup where 150,000 ducks at nine farms were to be culled and buried on Wednesday.

It also affirmed that the previously reported outbreak at a duck farm in Jeongeup was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.

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.

Between November 2006 and March last year, South Korea reported seven cases of H5N1 which prompted the temporary suspension of poultry exports to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere.

Last June, the World Organization 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 could mutate into a form easily transmissible between people and spark a deadly global pandemic.