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Each winter for the past three years South Korea has been hit with severe outbreaks of HPAI H5 avian flu causing severe damage to their poultry industry. Last year HPAI H5N6 joined HPAI H5N8 for the first time
Each winter, we usually see environmental detections in wild bird feces (or sometimes dead birds) either before, or concurrent with these outbreaks.With South Korea hosting the Winter Olympics in February, they are understandably worried about a repeat performance, and have stepped up their surveillance and containment procedures (see South Korea Ramps Up Avian Flu Quarantine Measures).
Today South Korean media is reporting that routine surveillance has detected avian H5 (subtype & pathogenicity undetermined) in bird feces in Seosan, 151 kilometers south of Seoul. We should get more precise information in the next couple of days.
This from Yonhap News.
Avian influenza virus detected in S. Korea
2017/10/13 10:08
SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government said Friday the avian influenza (AI) virus has been detected in wild bird droppings in the central part of the country.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said a H5 strain of bird flu virus was detected in excretions of wild birds in Seosan, 151 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday.
The ministry said it will check to see if the virus is highly pathogenic within the next three days.
Quarantine authorities have disinfected the site and designated the area within a 10-kilometer radius of the virus under special monitoring, banning poultry farms from moving birds until the inspection is completed.
