# 4198
Two unrelated stories, except that they involve farm animals in South Korea infected with two very different influenza viruses; one human adapted, and one low-path avian.
While neither story is particularly alarming, they do illustrate how difficult it is to keep human and avian flu strains out of domesticated livestock.
South Korea tests livestock more rigorously than many other nations, and understandably reports these sorts of infections more often than many other countries. It is pretty safe to assume that similar infections are going unreported in many places around the world.
Number of H1N1 Infections Growing on Pig Farms
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - South Korea reported today another case of H1N1 infection at a local swine farm, adding to a growing list of pigs infected with the flu, local media reported.
The latest outbreak occurred in a pig farm in Jeungup, Jeolla Province, marking the sixteenth confirmed case of H1N1 infection since mid-December when five farms reported infection for the first time in the country, according to local media.
Authorities are suspecting pigs in the latest case might have contracted the virus through human contacts and expecting them to be naturally cured, according to media reports.
The country's farm ministry plans to take quarantine measures and vaccinate hog industry and health workers in an effort to stem further spread, local media said.
Low path H5 and H7 viruses are reportable animal diseases, even though they pose little health hazards to humans. Low pathogenic viruses have the potential to mutate into highly pathogenic viruses, therefore their appearance is taken seriously.
S. Korea: Low pathogenic H5N2 in ducks
29 Dec 2009
On a duck farm in South Korea low pathogenic bird flu type H5N2 has been diagnosed.
The duck farm in Chung Chong-Namdo (Gobuk-myeon, Seo-san city) holds 26,800 duck of which 40 birds were found to be positive for H5N2. The source of the infection could not be established.
As part of the yearly surveillance programme, a member of the Livestock Health Control Association collected samples from a duck raising farm in Seo-san city and requested the test for avian influenza to the Chungchong-namdo Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) on 7 December 2009.
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26,800 ducks raised in the affected farm were culled and 176,000 eggs kept in the farm were destroyed.
