Culling proceeds in South Korea

SKorea culls 365,000 poultry after 3rd bird flu case in less than a month
The Associated Press
Published: December 13, 2006
SKorea culls 365,000 poultry after 3rd bird flu case in less than a month
The Associated Press
Published: December 13, 2006

SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea completed the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of poultry Wednesday after the country's third reported case of bird flu in a month, an official said.

About 365,000 quails and chickens have been destroyed in Gimje, about 262 kilometers (160 miles) south of Seoul, since Tuesday, a local government official said, asking not to be named citing protocol.

The government confirmed an outbreak of bird flu at a quail farm in the city on Monday.

That brought the total number of poultry culled in the three bird flu cases since last month to more than 1.13 million. More than 770,000 chickens were destroyed as a result of the first two outbreaks.

The virus that caused the latest outbreak was the H5 strain, and most likely H5N1, although this was not immediately confirmed, the Agriculture Ministry said.

The first two cases were caused by the H5N1 virus, which the World Health Organization reports has killed at least 154 people worldwide since late 2003.

The site of the third outbreak is about 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of the first outbreak site.

In the last known outbreak of bird flu in South Korea, in 2003, about 5.3 million birds were culled.

Infections among people have been traced to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that could create a pandemic among humans.

SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea completed the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of poultry Wednesday after the country's third reported case of bird flu in a month, an official said.

About 365,000 quails and chickens have been destroyed in Gimje, about 262 kilometers (160 miles) south of Seoul, since Tuesday, a local government official said, asking not to be named citing protocol.

The government confirmed an outbreak of bird flu at a quail farm in the city on Monday.

That brought the total number of poultry culled in the three bird flu cases since last month to more than 1.13 million. More than 770,000 chickens were destroyed as a result of the first two outbreaks.

The virus that caused the latest outbreak was the H5 strain, and most likely H5N1, although this was not immediately confirmed, the Agriculture Ministry said.

The first two cases were caused by the H5N1 virus, which the World Health Organization reports has killed at least 154 people worldwide since late 2003.

The site of the third outbreak is about 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of the first outbreak site.

In the last known outbreak of bird flu in South Korea, in 2003, about 5.3 million birds were culled.

Infections among people have been traced to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that could create a pandemic among humans.