December 17, 2003

 

 

South Korea Conducts Mass Poultry Slaughter to Curb Bird Flu

 

The South Korean government announced a decision to slaughter 137,000 chickens and ducks raised within a three kilometer (1.8 mile) radius of a poultry farm southeast of Seoul to prevent the spread of a bird flu virus potentially fatal to humans.

 

All poultry eggs in the area surrounding the farming town of Umseong in the central province of North Chungcheong will also be destroyed, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.

 

Quarantine measures will be stepped up following the third suspected outbreak of the virus at a poultry farm in the area, the ministry said in a statement.

 

The initial outbreak was confirmed Monday after the death of 21,000 chickens at a farm 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Seoul.

 

The ministry's National Veterinary and Quarantine Service said bird flu virus had been identified as H5N1, the virus that killed six people in Hong Kong in 1997.

 

On Tuesday the ministry said it suspected the same virus had also infected a duck farm some 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) away from the chicken farm. The decision to slaughter all poultry in the area was taken after 30 chickens died at a third farm nearby.

 

The ministry said it was taking measures to combat the spread of the virus.

 

"Under the measures 137,000 chickens and ducks which are raised within three kilometres of the farm which reported the first outbreak will be culled and all the eggs produced in this area will also be destroyed," the statement said.

 

Quarantine authorities earlier banned the movement of animals from all 76 poultry farms within a 10-kilometre radius of the infected farms.

 

Meanwhile South Korea's chicken exports slowed and consumption of chicken and ducks plunged following the outbreak of bird flu.

 

Halim Co., the largest chicken processing company in South Korea, said it had shelved a plan to export 15 tons of chicken to Fukuoka, Japan, at the request of Japanese importers.

 

"The outbreak of bird flu has dealt a blow to our efforts for sales promotion in Japan," a Halim spokesman said.

 

Chicken sales at Lotte Mart, a South Korean food retailer, fell 35% to 11,000 chicken a day following the outbreak.