By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The government on Wednesday has raised its alert level for the avian influenza from ``Yellow (alert)'' to ``Orange (alarm).'' Therefore, all poultry raised within three kilometers of suspected Bird flu reported spots will be slaughtered.
The decision came after avian influenza was reported in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, about 70 kilometers southwest of Seoul and far away from Jeolla Area, where initial outbreaks of the virus were diagnosed on April 2. On Tuesday, the quarantine government announced a chicken farm in Pyeongtaek reported suspected Avian flu cases and decided to destroy all 338,000 chickens at nine nearby farms.
The case was confirmed as H5N1 positive but it has not been confirmed whether it is a highly virulent virus strain that is deadly to humans.
The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the alarm was posted on the Jeolla area only, but since the disease is spreading at an unusually quick rate and in ``unpredictable'' ways, the warning will be extended. ``We say this weekend will be the peak of the Avian flu infection rate and we are fully set to watch over it,'' a ministry spokesman said.
The government requested nine national universities nationwide to check on ducks and vowed to tighten punishment on those who distribute poultry from restricted areas. Up to now, those who violate the rules are subject to up to a year in prison or up to a 5 million won fine.
Warning levels for such contagious disease are Blue (attention), Yellow (alert), Orange (alarm) and Red (serious). A ministry spokesman said, ``if found in other areas than Jeolla and Gyeonggi, we may consider raising it to Red.''
The quarantine authority has confirmed a total of 20 cases of highly contagious avian influenza and 37 cases reported of possible bird flu as of Wednesday. There have been 238 human deaths globally from the H5N1 strain and 376 confirmed cases of infection since 2003, according to World Health Organization data.