September 2, 2004

 

 

Ducks Most Likely Source Of Bird Flu Virus In Korea
 

Korea's quarantine authority yesterday identified ducks as the most likely source of the avian influenza virus in the country. Nearly 9 months of rigorous studies had been conducted to find how the deadly flu spread to poultry nationwide at the start of this year.

 

According to the National Veterinary Quarantine Service, the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza first invaded ducks in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province around last October. The flu virus then spread unnoticed to other duck and chicken farms in the nation, the quarantine officials said.

 

"Unlike chickens, ducks have a strong resistance to the influenza. Although infected, they do not show significant symptoms. Farmers can hardly notice the presence of the disease," said Wi Sung-hwan, chief researcher at the state agency.

 

The research also confirmed the theory that migratory birds carried the influenza virus to the nation. However, the agency officials failed to explain how the virus from the migratory birds jumped to ducks in Cheonan.

 

Cheonan is known as the center of the nation's duck industry. Experts said the city supplies chicks and eggs to more than 70 percent of duck farms nationwide. The quarantine officials said the virus was probably able to jump to chickens because duck and chicken farms in Korea usually share the same equipment and trucks.

 

The first outbreak of the epidemic was reported in December at a chicken farm in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province. But the agency said that five or six duck farms around the epicenter had already been infected by the virus even before that outbreak.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said it is working on new anti-flu policies based on the study's result. The ministry officials said the focus will be on conducting thorough quarantine checks on ducks.

 

"At the same time, we will conduct virus tests on migratory birds entering the nation," said Yang Hong-gu, a quarantine official in the ministry.

 

The bird flu had swept through 19 chicken and duck farms in Korea, prompting the slaughter of more than five million birds. The epidemic also wiped out flocks elsewhere in Asia. In total, 100 million chickens were destroyed in eight Asian countries.

 

Korea has seen no outbreak since the last case in late March. Quarantine officials in Seoul said the disease was "completely" contained in the nation. But experts warn that the virus could reappear at any time. The epidemic has flared up again in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia since July.

 

"There is always some possibility that new flu virus from these countries can enter Korea. We cannot control the border completely," said Kim Sun-joong, a professor of veterinary medicine at Seoul National University.