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Low-virulent bird flu discovered in duck farm in southern S. Korea
GWANGJU, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- A new case of bird flu has been found in southern South Korea, officials said Saturday, and quarantine officials have stepped up efforts to prevent it from spreading.
The low-virulent H7 strain of avian influenza was discovered Friday at a duck farm in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, according to officials from the Gwangju metropolitan government.
City officials completed slaughtering and burying about 16,000 ducks from the farm and three others nearby about 6 a.m.
While the H7 strain is not highly contagious for humans, there is a possibility that it could mutate into a more virulent form.
Officials have banned all transportation of duck-related products until quarantine officials conclude an epidemiological study of a farm suspected to be the source of the outbreak.
The country has been hit by a bird flu epidemic twice, once in the winter of 2003 and once in 2006. In the last outbreak Seoul spent 58.2 billion won ($63.4 million) to compensate farmers for the loss of birds.
Nine million ducks and 70 million chickens are farmed domestically in South Korea.
No South Korean has yet contracted bird flu, but 202 people from 12 countries have perished from the disease.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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