# 5187
After three detections of the H5N1 bird flu virus in wild and/or migratory birds this month (see South Korea Finds 2 H5N1 Infected Owls and Korea: Bird Flu Discovered In Teal Ducks), it comes as little surprise that Korean Agriculture authorities are now investigating a duck farm where some of the birds there are showing signs suggestive of avian flu.
First the AFP report, appearing on Terra Daily, then some background.
S.Korea reports suspected bird flu case
by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) Dec 29, 2010
A South Korean duck farm has reported a suspected case of bird flu, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.
A quarantine zone has been declared around a farm in Cheonan, about 90 kilometres (54 miles) south of Seoul, where ducks showed symptoms of avian influenza, the ministry said.
Testing is underway, and we should know in a day or so if this is, indeed, H5N1.
South Korea has seen three previous major outbreaks of avian influenza in their poultry population. The first in the winter of 2003-2004, and then a second time in 2006.
The largest, and most costly outbreak occurred in April of 2008, which resulted in the culling of more than 8 million birds. You can read some of the coverage of that outbreak in these blogs:
Korea: Cat Death Attributed To Bird Flu
South Korea Investigating New Outbreak
S. Korea Finds 2 More Suspected Outbreaks
At the same time as these Korean outbreaks in 2008, Japan reported the discovery of the H5N1 virus in four swans in Akita Prefecture (see Japan Confirms Swans Infected With H5N1).
Similarly, this month Japan and Korea are once again both reporting multiple instances of H5N1 in wild and/or migratory birds. I’ve plotted the general locations on the map below.
All of which has agricultural interests in Japan and Korea on high alert, in hopes of avoiding another widespread outbreak like was seen two years ago.
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