April 11, 2011

South Korea confirms additional bird flu case

South Korea confirmed an additional bird flu case at a chicken farm on Friday (Apr 8), 15 days after the last outbreak was reported in the country.

Detailed tests revealed that the 13,200 birds at an egg-laying farm in Yeongcheon, 344 kilometres southeast of Seoul, were infected with the virulent H5N1 strain of the avian influenza (AI), the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said.

This is the first case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza reported in South Korea this month. The last virulent AI outbreak was confirmed on March 24.

The farm has been placed under quarantine as of Wednesday (Apr 6) after 130 chickens died suddenly. All birds on the farm will all be culled to prevent further spreading of the disease with quarantine authorities to check nearby poultry farms for similar symptoms.

The latest case marks the 52nd bird flu outbreak confirmed in the country since suspected cases were first reported on December 29, the NVRQS said. The government has since culled over 6.27 million birds in six provinces across the country.

Prior to the latest series of outbreaks, South Korea was hit by AI three times, with the last case occurring in April 2008 and resulted in the culling of 3.45 million birds. Other outbreaks took place in the winter months of 2003-2004 and 2006-2007.