April 15, 2008

Bird flu positive ducks sold to 20 South Korean restaurants

South Korea has confirmed that ducks infected with H5N1 bird flu virus has been smuggled out of the quarantine zone and sold to several restaurants in different cities and districts.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is investigating a possible bird flu outbreak at a chicken breeding farm in Iksan, North Jeolla Province and a duck breeding farm in Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province.

The Hampyeong duck farm had been visited by a retail dealer identified only as Park, who had acquired about 600 H5N1 positive ducks from a Gimje farm within a bird flu alert zone, according to the ministry and Gimje police station.

Of the 600 ducks, 40 were sold to a duck seller who in turn sold it to a restaurant attached to the Gimje farm. Park sold another 360 ducks to about 20 restaurants in six cities and districts including Jeonju, Gimje, Buan and Jeongeup, and buried the rest.

The duck seller proceeded to visit restaurants and chicken breeding farms several times, including a Geumsan located restaurant and the Iksan chicken farm where each have reported suspected bird flu outbreaks.

Transportation of poultry has been under strict control in the bird flu alert zone, which is 1.7 kilometres away from a farm where H5N1 was first detected, therefore it is boggling how Park could have bought the ducks, and even smuggled them out in the first place.  

South Korea has so far received 32 cases of suspected bird flu outbreaks, with 15 of them being confirmed.