Bird flu spreads in South Korea

Reports indicate that one outbreak has been discovered near the original outbreak site in Iksan, some 250 km from Seoul, while a second has been recorded some 140 km north of the original site.

200 chickens died at a farm in the southwestern city of Iksan, which housed about 12,000 fowl about three kilometers from the farm where an H5N1 avian influenza outbreak was confirmed at the weekend, according to Kim Yang Il, a spokesman at South Korea’s agriculture ministry.

Meanwhile, bird flu was found in a pair of chickens raised in South Korea’s southern city of Seosan, 140 kilometers north of Iksan, according to government officials.

The infected chickens had been hatched out of eggs supplied in mid-November from a breeding farm in Iksan where the virus was first discovered last week.

The strain of the virus in this case has not yet been determined.

After the initial outbreak was confirmed at the weekend, government officials slaughtered 236,000 animals on surrounding properties to contain the virus’s spread.

Hong Kong and Japan banned poultry imports from South Korea in response to news of the initial bird flu outbreak.

The World Health Organisation has reported to human cases of H5N1 in South Korea.