Avian flu found near Seoul

Roads and shops are disinfected Sunday in Moran Market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where a case of avian influenza was reported Saturday. / Yonhap

By Kim Se-jeong

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) said Sunday that it had discovered the bird flu virus in a chicken sold at a traditional market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province during a random inspection.

This is the first case of avian influenza confirmed in Gyeonggi Province this winter.

According to the ministry, the H5N8 strain was confirmed Saturday in the chicken sold at Moran Market in Seongnam, where about one million people live. The discovery was made five days after a sample was sent for examination. About 3,200 chickens on sale at the market were culled, and 11 chicken vendors shut down, it said.

The ministry is investigating whether there are any other suspected cases of avian influenza in the Seoul area. The ministry said the infected chicken had been supplied from a farm in Incheon.

Concerns are rising over possible human contraction, but health officials have said bird flu poses no threat to people.

The government also ordered farm owners in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province to disinfect their farms and to stop transporting poultry in and out of the region. Jeju Island banned all poultry products from Gyeonggi Province, Sunday.

Meanwhile, the ministry is being criticized for not responding quickly enough.

The government is accused of having learnt about the confirmed case earlier on Friday but waited until Saturday to order disinfection. Usually, quarantine begins from when a case is suspected. The ministry said it wanted to wait until everything was confirmed.

H5N8 is a subtype of bird flu. Experts say that although it is regarded as a lower contagious subtype, the virus can become highly pathogenic.

There have been several cases of bird flu in Korea this year, with the first case reported in February. The government blamed migratory birds as the cause, but experts said the outbreaks were more to do with domestic factors such as hygiene on farms.

In March, a dog was found to have developed antibodies to bird flu, raising concerns over a possible cross-species transmission to humans. The World Health Organization said cross-species infection is rare.

Meanwhile, several pig farms in Korea are struggling with an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

As of Sunday, pigs from 17 farms have tested positive for the highly infectious disease. Two farms in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, were added to the list of infected properties Sunday. Quarantine authorities culled 110 pigs and banned the transport of all animals within three kilometers.

More than 8,000 pigs have been culled since the first case was reported on Dec. 3. The ministry said it had vaccinated almost 62,000 pigs on 41 farms in North Chungcheong Province to prevent the spread of the disease.