By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
The quarantine authorities said they are investigating a suspected bird flu outbreak in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, just 70 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
It was the first report of a suspicious outbreak of avian influenza near the capital and adds to growing concerns that the disease could be spreading across the nation.
The number of suspected bird flu cases rose to 36 as of Tuesday, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Among them 20 cases are confirmed as the deadly H5N1 strain that can also be deadly to humans. There are concerns over the possibility of the disease mutating into one that passes from one person to another.
More than 350 chickens were reported suddenly dead at a farm in Pyeongtaek and tested positive for the H5 strain of the avian virus. Blood samples from dead chicken were under examination to determine whether their deaths were caused by the H5N1 virus.
They have also set up a prevention base and launched disinfecting measures in the region, designating it as a restricted area.
They also checked the transfer of poultry products in the area over the past three weeks. They culled remaining chickens at the farm in Pyeongtaek. If tests show that chickens had died from the virulent H5 strain, all birds raised in nearly poultry farms will have to be culled.
The authorities are desperate to stem the further spread of the bird flu, but it seems to be turning worse before getting better since serial outbreaks of the bird flu in the southern parts of the nation.
On top of the outbreak in Pyeongtaek, three other cases of bird flue were reported in the Jeolla Province.
Several outbreaks of the bird flu cases were first reported on April 2 in North Jeolla Province and they were also confirmed as H5N1.
In 2006, the authorities had to cull 2.8 million birds. 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.