'Holiday to determine bird flu fight'

National Police Agency (NPA) Chief Lee Sung-han, right, presides over a video conference with metropolitan and provincial police agency chiefs about measures to counter the spread of avian influenza and data theft, at the NPA main office in Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

The upcoming Lunar New Year holiday is expected to be a watershed in the ongoing fight against the spread of avian influenza, experts and government officials said Monday.

“The South Chungcheong provincial government will ask travelers to refrain from visiting the province, and conduct thorough disinfection of vehicles traveling into the region,” said Kim Don-kon, an official with the local government.

About 27.7 million people are expected to travel to their hometowns during the holidays raising the chances of the bird flu outbreak being spread by human vectors.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) said Monday, it and local governments are doing their utmost in disinfection and inspection activities in Gyeonggi, and South and North Chungcheong provinces, as well as the cities of Daejeon and Sejong, where a day earlier the ministry banned the movement of any poultry, workers or vehicles from farms there for 12 hours from Monday 6 a.m.

“The ministry requests home-comers to pay extra caution when visiting these areas,” said Lee Jun-won, a deputy minister.

MAFRA said in a press briefing that it imposed the lockdown measure to contain the outbreak, which has resulted in the culling of 644,000 ducks and chickens so far with an additional 813,000 set for slaughter.

Since the H5N8 strain ― the cause of the bird flu ― is highly infectious, people and cars visiting infected areas during the holiday may carry the deadly virus and spread it to other areas, it said.

Some 3,800 civil servants and 144 disinfection vehicles have been deployed at farms in the lockdown-affected regions. The ministry warned that those who violate the lockdown measure will face a maximum one-year jail term or a 5 million-won fine.

The lockdown is the second of its kind, following one imposed in South and North Jeolla provinces from Jan. 19 to 20, after the first case of avian influenza was confirmed there.

However, experts point out that the measures have been proven to be ineffective as the disease is showing signs of spreading northward.

A breeding farm in Jincheon County in North Chungcheong Province became the 11th to report a suspected case, Monday. Six farms have been confirmed as infected with the H5N8 strain of bird flu, while five are awaiting test results. Some 5,000 ducks were raised on the Jincheon farm.

On Sunday, it was confirmed that chickens at a poultry farm in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province were infected with H5N8. Until then, ducks and swans were the only reported cases.