#13,014
As the last week of 2017 slips away South Korea continues to report an uptick in HPAI H5N6 poultry outbreaks, along with a growing number environmental detections of various LPAI & HPAI viruses around the country.
On Wednesday of this week South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture (MAFRA) announced their 5th HPAI H5N6 poultry outbreak in just over a month.Unlike the H5N6 virus that arrived last winter from China, this is a new reassortant H5N6 spun off from the European H5N8 virus, which has also been reported in the past month in Japan, The Netherlands, and most recently Switzerland,
Today, in addition to reporting several more H5 detections (subtype and pathogenicity tests pending) across the country, MAFRA is reporting two more duck farms struck by H5N6. The first (below), is established as HPAI, while the second those tests are pending.
Kind of duck farms in Naju South Jeolla inspection results Highly Pathogenic AI (H5N6 type) confirmed
Added 2017-12-30 18:48:00
Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry and Food. (Secretary: gimyoungrok) is 12.29 (Fri) AI Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock Quarantine Office for the South Jeolla Province Naju material kind of duck farms (breeding scale 23,000 number) confirmed H5 type in the inspection process, the final inspection results, 12.30 (Sat ) today announced that confirmed a highly pathogenic AI (H5N6 type) virus.
Agri-food section was to prior confirmed as highly pathogenic to preemptive action when confirmed H5 antigen "temporarily move the stop command," the official announcement (12.29. From 12 pm 12.30. 12 pm) ever conducted in Japan moved to stop and disinfection, H5 confirmed antigens At the same time it announced that enhanced enforcement of quarantine measures - to prevent further action ever occurs. *
① All poultry farms and workers seven days to move and access control,
② all poultry breeding farms inspections carried out,
③ banned poultry distribution of material Naju Naju traditional markets in Naju
This second outbreak, and the ambiguity over its pathogenicity, are interesting because of its location; Yeonam, Jeonnam (South Jeolla).
This is only a few miles from where a `second strain' of HPAI H5N6 was reported 10 days ago (see South Korea Reports `Second Strain' Of Newly Reassorted H5N6 Virus), collected from duck farm on December 10th.It will probably be a couple of days before the pathogenicity question is answered, and probably next week before we get a more detailed genetic analysis.
Detection of H5N6 type AI antigens in a duck farm of Youngkam, Yeonam, Jeonnam
Registered 2017-12-30 10:23:00
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock Food and Beverage (minister: Kim Young-rak) said on December 30 that H5N6-type AI was detected in a duck farm of Yeongam-gun, Chonnam Province (rearing size: 35,000 and 38 days old). *
Whether the disease is highly pathogenic or not will be revealed within 1 ~ 2 days. It is confirmed during the inspection process conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock Quarantine Headquarters conducted by the whole duck farm (total 21) in Yeongam-gun, Chonnam Province.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry had already been in the process of moving control from the existing dormitory farm (within 3km) from the Yeongam Duck farm in Chonnam, where a highly pathogenic AI occurred. The Central Epidemiological Surveillance Division is dispatched to conduct on-site blocking measures and epidemiological surveys. In addition, emergency disinfection measures for epidemiological-related vehicles, people, and livestock-related facilities according to the results of physical disposal, .
In order to prevent the further spread of AI, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries requested the active cooperation of the people including the poultry farmers to prevent the poultry farmers and migratory birds from visiting the poultry farms,While nothing like the avian flu juggernaut that swept across South Korea last winter - impacting 300+ farms and resulting in the loss of over 30 million birds - this reinvented H5N6 virus does appear to be picking up steam the past couple of weeks.
And with the start of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games now only 5 weeks away (Feb 9th - 25th), that is not the direction the South Korean authorities want to see things going in.
