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South Korea to start year-round monitoring for bird flu

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  • South Korea to start year-round monitoring for bird flu

    S Korea to start year-round monitoring for bird flu <!-- Author -->South Korea will start year-round monitoring for bird flu after this year's outbreak -- the country's worst -- began later than normal, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.

    It said migratory and resident wild birds would be monitored regularly and all chicken and duck farms would be inspected every other week for both the virulent and less contagious strains of avian influenza.

    Some 23 monitoring teams will be established nationwide.

    Quarantine authorities were caught by surprise when an outbreak began in early April and swept through most of the country.

    In the past a heightened bird flu alert was in force from November to March, when migratory birds stay in the country and weather conditions may help spread the virus.

    The government culled more than eight million birds and the cost of the outbreak was estimated at 264 billion won (259 million dollars).

    No confirmed case has been reported since May 12. If no other case emerges, the agriculture ministry will declare South Korea free of the disease in August.

    The ministry said the country's 2,384 duck farms would be watched especially closely because ducks have longer incubation periods and were found to be the main cause of the spread of bird flu.

    "Because of this decision, the government will require even small duck farms to be registered so they can be checked," Lee Sang-Kil, head of the ministry's livestock policy bureau, was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying.

    Following outbreaks in major cities including Seoul and Busan, a new standard operating procedure would be formulated for urban areas.

    The country has been hit by bird flu outbreaks three times. But no South Korean is known to have contracted the disease, even though the H5N1 strain found here has killed more than 240 people worldwide since late 2003


    http://www.france24.com/en/20080722-...oring-bird-flu.

  • #2
    Re: South Korea to start year-round monitoring for bird flu

    Korea to implement year-round bird flu monitoring system

    Seoul, Jul 22 (Korea Newswire)-- The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Tuesday (July 22) that Korea will implement a system for year-round monitoring of poultry farms and bird habitats as well as set up new operating procedures to quickly contain any bird flu outbreaks.

    The ministry said the monitoring of migratory and resident wild birds will be carried out on a regular basis, and all chicken and duck farms are to be checked every quarter for both the virulent and less contagious strains of avian influenza.

    The decision, reached at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, comes after quarantine authorities were caught off guard when an outbreak that began in early April swept through the country.

    Korea previously maintained a heightened bird flu alert from November to March, when migratory birds stay in the country and weather conditions may contribute to the epidemic of the virus.

    The government culled a record 8.46 million birds during the two-month outbreak at a cost of 264.1 billion won ($259.5 million). The state-run Korea Rural Economic Institute claimed in June that damages from the latest outbreak topped 630 billion won. The figure includes losses from an overall drop in poultry consumption.

    The ministry said there will be special monitoring of all 2,300 duck farms in the country because ducks have longer incubation periods and were found to be the main cause of the spread of avian influenza, while chickens die more quickly from the illness.


    News Source : The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

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