Fear of bird flu grows as H5N8 strain of AI detected on fourth duck farm

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• published: 21 Jan 2014
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On to the latest on the bird flu outbreak here in Korea... The number of confirmed cases ison the up-and-up, raising fears the virus may have spread nationwide. Kwon Soa has the latest. Fears of a nationwide bird flu outbreak in Korea are growing. Authorities have confirmed that the number of poultry farms that have ducks infected with the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of avian influenza has risen to four. The farms are in Buan and Gochang in Jeollabuk-do. The same strain of the virus was confirmed in a group of dead wild ducks found in a reservoir near a poultry farm in Gochang on Monday. Officials say this increases the chance that migratory ducks are the source of the bird flu outbreak, and, more specifically, a type of duck called the baikal teal, which is said to be flying into the country from Russia for the winter. If they are confirmed as the source of the virus, it could spread or may already have spread to other areas in the southern part of the country and beyond. Korea has a total of 37 wintering sites for migratory birds. As a preventive measure, the Ministry of Environment has said it will track the baikal teal's route via GPS. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has decided to kill all poultry within 5-hundred meters of the infected farms and has expanded the number of sterilization locations with the help of the military and police. 2-hundred-thousand poultry have been culled so far. Meanwhile, with H5N8 making its first appearance in the nation, there have been questions about whether the virus can be transferred to humans. Health authorities say that there has never been a case of H5N8 in humans in the world. Food products are also said to be safe, because there is hardly any chance that the infected products have or will enter the market, and even if they do, the virus is destroyed once cooked at 75 degrees Celsius for at least five minutes. Nevertheless, sales of poultry products have dropped significantly over the last couple of days. Kwon Soa, Arirang News.