#12,905
Although they raised their alert level weeks ago in anticipation of another winter's onslaught of avian flu (see last September's South Korea Ramps Up Avian Flu Quarantine Measures) so far this fall South Korea has only had to deal with multiple detections of LPAI H5 and H7 viruses in wild birds.
That lucky streak appears to be ending as this morning South Korea's MAFRA is reporting an outbreak of H5 AI (avian influenza) at an undisclosed poultry farm in Gochung County, about 300 km south east of Seoul.The exact subtype and pathogenicity (LPAI or HPAI) won't be known until lab test results are made available next week, but quarantine and culling have already begun. The following (translated) statement comes from South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture (MAFRA).
Jeonbuk, Gochang Duck Farm [Pre-shipment inspection of slaughterhouse] Confirmation of AI medical certificate
Registration date 2017-11-18 08:35
The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) announced on 11.18 (Saturday) that the pre-shipment inspection of the slaughterhouse duck farmhouse (rearing size: 12,300) in Gochang- AI antigen was detected.
As a result, the local livestock pest controller has been dispatched and emergency measures have been taken by the AI SOP, such as preemptive pre-emptive disposal, restriction of movement, and epidemiological investigation on the farm. *
Whether the disease is highly pathogenic or not is expected to come on November 21st. * Physician Conversation Farm Households Current Status of Farm Households: Within 500m No poultry farmers The agriculture and commodity ministry has requested the active cooperation of the people including poultry farmers to prevent the spread of AI. Poultry farmers and wild migratory birds visited the site,
A somewhat less kludgy summary comes from this English language report in the Korea Times.
Bird flu virus detected in Gochang
Posted : 2017-11-18 16:53
The South Korean government said Saturday the avian influenza (AI) virus has been detected at a poultry farm operated by a local conglomerate located in the southern part of the country.(Continue . . .)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said the H5 strain of the bird flu was discovered from the farm with around 12,300 ducks in Gochang, 296 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
The government said it is currently carrying out epidemiological investigations, while slaughtering the livestock as a preventive measure.
South Korea, which will host the 2018 Winter Olympics Games in Pyeongchang County in less than 90 days (Feb 9th-25th), is particularly keen to contain any avian flu outbreaks in hopes of avoiding the financial impacts, and negative press, of the past three winters.
