LOC16:24
13:24 GMT
TOKYO, Jan 30 (KUNA) -- A bird flu case has been confirmed at a chicken
farm in South Korea's central Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul, Yonhap News
Agency reported Thursday.
The South Korean Agriculture Ministry said that tests showed a chicken
breeding farm in the province came up positive for the H5 strain of avian
influenza that is sweeping parts of the country, according to the report. The
Gyeonggi region that surrounds the capital city of Seoul is home to the
largest number of chicken farms in the country.
"At present we are trying to determine if the latest case is a virulent
avian influenza strain," a ministry source was quoted as saying. He said that
all poultry within a three-kilometer radius of the affected farm have been
culled as a preventative measure. Past cases have been restricted in the
country's southwestern region. This is the first time that a bird flu case has
been detected so far north.
The ministry said the farm affected by the outbreak is located some 15
kilometers southwest of a lake, a key stopping area for migratory birds. The
government suspects migratory birds have spread the latest outbreak. More than
1.5 million birds have been culled since the first outbreak of the H5N8 bird
flu was reported Jan. 16 at a duck farm in Gochang City, 300 kilometers
southwest of Seoul, Yonhap reported on Tuesday.
Ministry officials said the H5N8, unlike other strains of bird flu, posed
little immediate threat to humans, noting no human infection of the strain has
been reported. (end)
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KUNA 301624 Jan 14NNNN