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(LEAD) S. Korea to build bird flu vaccine plant
SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to build a large plant for the production of avian influenza vaccine in a stepped-up effort to prepare for the possibility of the deadly poultry disease spreading to humans, health officials said Thursday.
The plant, to be located in Hwasun, a town about 340 kilometers southwest of Seoul, will produce enough vaccine for around 20 million patients a year, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said in a report to parliament. The construction will be completed by the end of next year, it added.
Other details, such as the amount to be invested, were not available.
The plan comes as South Korea is struggling to contain the deadly disease, which caused the nation to cull millions of birds since April 1, when the first outbreak of this year was discovered.
Since the outbreak began in the southwestern region of the country, bird flu has spread nationwide, with cases being confirmed in the capital city and Busan, the country's largest port city in the Gyeongsang region.
The agriculture ministry said earlier in the day that 1.5 million head of poultry have been culled at farms in Gyeongsan and Yangsan, also located in the Gyeongsang region.
Most outbreaks in the region have been mild, with relatively small numbers of birds being killed.
Counting the Gyeongsan and Yangsan cases, the government has tallied 42 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza this year, resulting in the culling of more than 8 million birds.
Experts fear that the H5N1 virus, which had spread from birds to humans in the past, could mutate into a form that may be transmissible between people, and spark a deadly global pandemic.
Reflecting general public concerns and the need to help farmers, the agriculture ministry said it plans to buy poultry to help relieve the sharp slump in consumer demand.
"Birds are to be bought at average market prices, with emergency relief funds to be offered for farms and poultry businesses that have been hit hard by the bird flu," an official said.
According to the World Health Organization, around 240 people have reportedly died from the deadly H5N1 strain worldwide. No human deaths have been reported in South Korea.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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