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| Municipal government officials prepare to cull chickens at a poultry farm in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, Sunday, after birds there were found to be infected with a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza. / Yonhap |
By Kim Da-ye
Over 1.4 million chickens will be culled after the first cases of deadly avian influenza among chickens were confirmed at a poultry farm in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province.
The outbreak of bird flu is showing signs of spreading along the west coast with six farms in South and North Jeolla and South Chungcheong provinces reporting suspected cases over the weekend.
The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (QIA) found the H5N8 virus — the cause of the infections — in feces of migratory birds in Lake Sihwa in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, the most northern point to be affected so far.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said that it will enforce tough measures because bird flu tends to spread faster among chickens.
Considering they are more vulnerable than ducks and outnumber the latter five to one, farmers could be devastated.
“The decision is based on our livestock quarantine committee’s view that avian influenza spreads faster among chickens and preventive culls are needed to avoid additional sporadic flare-ups,” the agriculture ministry said.
Due to the severity of the outbreak, Prime Minister Jung Hong-won held an emergency ministerial meeting Sunday to discuss relevant measures.
“Cases of bird flu have been observed along the route of migratory birds, so we will focus our quarantine efforts in these regions in order to prevent the contagion spreading to nearby poultry farms,” Jung said.
“We will also strengthen publicity activities to discourage people from visiting these areas during the Lunar New Year holiday.”
The outbreak seemed to have entered a dormant phase until Saturday morning, as no fresh outbreaks had been reported in North Jeolla Province for four days in a row.
However, on Saturday and Sunday six more suspected cases were reported; while the H5N8 strain of avian influenza was found in feces of migratory birds in Lake Sihwa in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.
The first case over the weekend came at the chicken farm in Buyeo; and the QIA confirmed dead birds there were infected with H5N8.
The new outbreak prompted the government’s decision to cull all ducks and chickens within three kilometers of the six farms. Some 488,000 birds on 35 farms have been culled so far, and 1.75 million birds at 42 could be slaughtered.
In the second case — at a duck farm in Haenam, South Jeolla Province — the authority confirmed the H5N8 virus as responsible.
Inspections at four other farms — in Buan, North Jeolla Province, Naju and Yeongam in South Jeolla Province and Cheonan in South Chungcheong Province — are ongoing.
In the meantime, 49 different suspected cases of bird flu in migratory birds have been, or are being, examined. The test results on 13 were positive while those on seven were negative.
The migratory birds infected with the virus were found at Dongrim Reservoir in Gochang, North Jeolla Province; the mouth of the Geum River; and Lake Sihwa in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.
Despite multiple suspected cases of avian influenza, the government decided to keep its warning state at the “alert” level. The ministry judged that the disease is occurring “sporadically” rather than being “transmitted horizontally” because the newly reported cases aren’t related to existing ones.
“The necessity to raise the level to serious is low, but we will continue to monitor the situation and decide,” the ministry said.
In the meantime, the bird flu outbreak in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, posed serious concerns to the poultry industry over a possible shortage of duck meat. Some 8 million ducks — more than 40 percent of the country’s supply — are raised in South Jeolla Province.
Fear of the spread of the disease is heightening as the Lunar New Year holiday begins Thursday. More than half of the population is expected to travel from their residences to visit relatives. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2014/01/116_150523.html
