S. Korea - suspect death chickens in Asan

[Gert van der Hoek]

Gov't trying to find what caused death of chickens in Asan

ASAN, South Korea, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's animal quarantine authorities said Tuesday that they are looking into the sudden death of 6,000 chickens from a farm in Asan .

Inspectors sent to a chicken farm that reported the deaths said initial on-site tests showed the birds did not die of bird flu. Others sent to a second farm that reported a sharp reduction in eggs are trying to determine the cause. Tests on the chickens in the second farm to confirm bird flu have also returned negative.

Both farms are near a duck farm where a bird flu epidemic was reported last week. Asan lies about 80 kilometers south of Seoul.

Officials said that samples of the dead animals and commercial egg-laying chickens have been sent to National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service for a more detailed analysis. Results of these tests are expected Wednesday.

The large-scale death of the animals and the reduction in egg production are tell-tale signs of a virulent strain of avian influenza that has hit the country in recent months.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry reported four separate cases of the disease since November.

The government has culled more than a million birds to prevent the spread of the flu.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20061226/650000000020061226201822E0.html

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: S. Korea - suspect death chickens in Asan

Porous Bird Flu Quarantine Sparks Concerns



The quarantine system designed to stem the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza is anything but watertight, authorities have found. Gyeonggi Province reported Monday that 5,600 heads of chickens transported from a farm in Chonan, South Chungcheong Province to a Hwaseong slaughterhouse two days earlier were culled since they were found to have come from a bird-flu infected area.

The Chonan chicken farm lies within the quarantine radius of an Asan duck farm infected with a highly pathogenic bird flu strain. The farm was within 10 km of the infected area, the radius where all transport and release of poultry are restricted. The chickens were transported without the required release documents. Worse, they were infected with Newcastle disease, a class 1 animal communicable disease.

Byung-gyu Lim, a quarantine official with the Gyeonggi provincial government, said the chickens were transferred while awaiting inspection results from the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service after around 10,000 chickens died of respiratory and central nervous problems since Dec. 21, two days before the transport of the chickens from Chonan. He said South Chungcheong Povince and the Chonan city government are investigating how 5,000 chickens were permitted outside the area under such conditions.

Unlike bird flu, Newcastle disease is not communicated to human beings, yet infected birds are under transport ban and must be culled immediately.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200612/200612260020.html