November 28, 2006

South Korea says second bird flu case suspected

South Korea's farm ministry said on Tuesday (Nov 28) it had found a second suspected case of bird flu at a poultry farm days after confirming its first outbreak in three years.

The ministry said the case was at a poultry farm near the first case of bird flu. Authorities are anxiously checking to see if the virus has spread to other parts of the country.

Officials have nearly completed culling all 236,000 poultry within a 500 metre (1,640-ft) radius of the affected farm in North Cholla province about 170 km (100 miles) south from Seoul.

The government could use reserve funds to compensate farmers for financial losses from bird flu should the disease spread further.

A Planning and Budget Ministry official said for now the government can compensate farms using unused portions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's budget. To stop the disease's spread, the Agriculture Ministry plans to extend the culling to all ducks and other livestock within a half-kilometre radius of the first affected farm by Thursday.

North Korea is stepping up measures to prevent bird flu, its official media said, following an announcement from South Korea's announcement.