Commonground
Senior Moderator
June 30, 2008
S. Korea lifts all restrictions imposed in wake of bird flu outbreaks
SEOUL - SOUTH KOREA has lifted restrictions imposed to curb an outbreak of bird flu which led to the culling of more than eight million birds, the agriculture ministry said on Monday.
It said curbs on the movement of birds, people and vehicles were lifted in all districts hit by avian flu as of Sunday.
South Korea has culled more than eight million birds since April 1. This year's outbreak is the country's worst with damage estimated at 200 billion won (S$260 million).
No confirmed case has been reported since May 12, the ministry said.
'If no new cases are reported, we will declare the country free of the disease in August,' a ministry spokesman said.
In the country's 2003-2004 outbreak 5.28 million birds were culled, while a 2006-2007 outbreak resulted in 2.8 million birds being destroyed.
South Korea hopes to proclaim itself free of the disease in mid-August and report it to the World Organisation for Animal Health, according to the ministry.
Under the organisation's regulations, a country can officially declare itself free of the disease if no new cases of bird flu have been found for three months.
The ministry said it suspected this year's bird flu outbreak was caused by migratory birds or foreign workers and tourists who visited China or Vietnam.
The virus remains hard for people to catch, but scientists worry it could mutate into a form that spreads more easily between humans, with the potential to kill millions worldwide.
South Korea has reported no human infections of the H5N1 strain of bird flu that has killed 243 people elsewhere in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. -- AFP, AP
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Asia/STIStory_253163.html
S. Korea lifts all restrictions imposed in wake of bird flu outbreaks
SEOUL - SOUTH KOREA has lifted restrictions imposed to curb an outbreak of bird flu which led to the culling of more than eight million birds, the agriculture ministry said on Monday.
It said curbs on the movement of birds, people and vehicles were lifted in all districts hit by avian flu as of Sunday.
South Korea has culled more than eight million birds since April 1. This year's outbreak is the country's worst with damage estimated at 200 billion won (S$260 million).
No confirmed case has been reported since May 12, the ministry said.
'If no new cases are reported, we will declare the country free of the disease in August,' a ministry spokesman said.
In the country's 2003-2004 outbreak 5.28 million birds were culled, while a 2006-2007 outbreak resulted in 2.8 million birds being destroyed.
South Korea hopes to proclaim itself free of the disease in mid-August and report it to the World Organisation for Animal Health, according to the ministry.
Under the organisation's regulations, a country can officially declare itself free of the disease if no new cases of bird flu have been found for three months.
The ministry said it suspected this year's bird flu outbreak was caused by migratory birds or foreign workers and tourists who visited China or Vietnam.
The virus remains hard for people to catch, but scientists worry it could mutate into a form that spreads more easily between humans, with the potential to kill millions worldwide.
South Korea has reported no human infections of the H5N1 strain of bird flu that has killed 243 people elsewhere in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. -- AFP, AP
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Asia/STIStory_253163.html