AlaskaDenise
In Memoriam
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/174755.html
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=subtitle01 style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" colSpan=2>Gov't works to uncover origin of recent virulent strain</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=8></TD></TR><TR height=1><TD bgColor=#e3e3e3 colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR bgColor=#efefef height=27><TD width="100%">http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/HKRONLY/</TD><TD noWrap></TD></TR><TR height=1><TD bgColor=#e3e3e3 colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--/##### news title ##### --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=590 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px">There is a possibility that a virulent strain of avian influenza detected in South Korea was contracted from migratory birds, but it is too early to determine the risk. So says the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which is putting its utmost efforts into an effective quarantine in order to prevent the spread of a highly pathogenic type of avian influenza that appeared in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.
Health investigators are now carrying out on-the-spot inspections in and around the affected poultry farm in Iksan. Agriculture Minister Park Heung-soo said, "We will determine the cause of infection within a month by mobilizing all of our capabilities."
Chances seem slim for the farm's owner to have carried the virus to his farm, as the owner did not travel overseas or visit sites where migratory birds gather, according to the ministry's investigation results so far.
Therefore, the Agriculture Ministry is putting its focus on the possibility that excrement from migratory birds may be at the root of the infection at the poultry farm in Iksan, about 15 kilometers east of the southern part of a river known to be an arrival site for migratory birds.
However, other cases point to the possibility that the ministry may not figure out the cause of infection. In 2003, when South Korea reported its first bird flu outbreak, the government failed to figure out the exact cause of infection. Kim Chang-seop, a senior ministry official, said, "In 2003, the government suspected that the infection may have been related to migratory birds after analyzing genetic fingerprints. It may not be easy to figure out the exact cause of [this latest] infection."
Environmental groups and bird experts are concerned about the government's presumption that migratory birds may have caused the outbreak of avian influenza. Kim Gyeong-won, an official at the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, said, "The quarantine authorities are tending to emphasize the possibility of infection from migratory birds because they are having difficulty figuring out the cause."
.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=subtitle01 style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" colSpan=2>Gov't works to uncover origin of recent virulent strain</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=8></TD></TR><TR height=1><TD bgColor=#e3e3e3 colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR bgColor=#efefef height=27><TD width="100%">http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/HKRONLY/</TD><TD noWrap></TD></TR><TR height=1><TD bgColor=#e3e3e3 colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--/##### news title ##### --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=590 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px">There is a possibility that a virulent strain of avian influenza detected in South Korea was contracted from migratory birds, but it is too early to determine the risk. So says the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which is putting its utmost efforts into an effective quarantine in order to prevent the spread of a highly pathogenic type of avian influenza that appeared in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.
Health investigators are now carrying out on-the-spot inspections in and around the affected poultry farm in Iksan. Agriculture Minister Park Heung-soo said, "We will determine the cause of infection within a month by mobilizing all of our capabilities."
Chances seem slim for the farm's owner to have carried the virus to his farm, as the owner did not travel overseas or visit sites where migratory birds gather, according to the ministry's investigation results so far.
Therefore, the Agriculture Ministry is putting its focus on the possibility that excrement from migratory birds may be at the root of the infection at the poultry farm in Iksan, about 15 kilometers east of the southern part of a river known to be an arrival site for migratory birds.
However, other cases point to the possibility that the ministry may not figure out the cause of infection. In 2003, when South Korea reported its first bird flu outbreak, the government failed to figure out the exact cause of infection. Kim Chang-seop, a senior ministry official, said, "In 2003, the government suspected that the infection may have been related to migratory birds after analyzing genetic fingerprints. It may not be easy to figure out the exact cause of [this latest] infection."
Environmental groups and bird experts are concerned about the government's presumption that migratory birds may have caused the outbreak of avian influenza. Kim Gyeong-won, an official at the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, said, "The quarantine authorities are tending to emphasize the possibility of infection from migratory birds because they are having difficulty figuring out the cause."
.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>