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South Korea starts killing poultry after fresh outbreak of bird flu
SEOUL, South Korea (AP): South Korea has started killing hundreds of thousands of poultry after a fresh outbreak of bird flu that was very likely the deadly H5N1 strain, officials said Tuesday.
The Agriculture Ministry confirmed Monday the outbreak at a quail farm in Gimje, some 262 kilometers (160 miles) south of Seoul, was the H5 strain and most likely the N1 type, although that hasn't yet been confirmed.
South Korea recently saw two outbreaks of the H5N1 virus of bird flu at chicken farms, and killed over 770,000 chickens to try to prevent the spread of the virus.
The new outbreak site was some 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of the first outbreak site in the same province, the ministry said.
Quarantine officials have started slaughtering poultry near the Gimje farm, with more than 360,000 birds expected to be killed, ministry official Kim Chang-sup said.
South Korea culled about 5.3 million birds during the last known outbreak of bird flu in 2003.
Since ravaging Asia's poultry in late 2003, the H5N1 virus has killed at least 154 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Infections among people have been traced to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that could create a human pandemic.
South Korea has also reported a few outbreaks of a low-grade strain of bird flu that is not harmful to humans.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP): South Korea has started killing hundreds of thousands of poultry after a fresh outbreak of bird flu that was very likely the deadly H5N1 strain, officials said Tuesday.
The Agriculture Ministry confirmed Monday the outbreak at a quail farm in Gimje, some 262 kilometers (160 miles) south of Seoul, was the H5 strain and most likely the N1 type, although that hasn't yet been confirmed.
South Korea recently saw two outbreaks of the H5N1 virus of bird flu at chicken farms, and killed over 770,000 chickens to try to prevent the spread of the virus.
The new outbreak site was some 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of the first outbreak site in the same province, the ministry said.
Quarantine officials have started slaughtering poultry near the Gimje farm, with more than 360,000 birds expected to be killed, ministry official Kim Chang-sup said.
South Korea culled about 5.3 million birds during the last known outbreak of bird flu in 2003.
Since ravaging Asia's poultry in late 2003, the H5N1 virus has killed at least 154 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Infections among people have been traced to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that could create a human pandemic.
South Korea has also reported a few outbreaks of a low-grade strain of bird flu that is not harmful to humans.