# 8199
The first known outbreak of HPAI H5N8 in poultry continues to expand in South Korea, with 4 farms now confirmed to be infected with the virus, and tests pending on other locations. We’ve two reports today, first a short (2 minute) video report from Arirang News (h/t Carol@SC at the Flu Wiki ).
From the transcript:
Fear of bird flu grows as H5N8 strain of AI suspected on farms outside of original outbreak area
Updated: 2014-01-21 PM 5:51:01 (KST)Fears of a nationwide bird flu outbreak in Korea are growing.
Disease prevention authorities said Tuesday that they suspect a duck farm in the southern city of Jeongeup in Jeollabuk-do Province has been infected with avian influenza.
If their suspicions prove true, it would be the first case of AI outside of Gochang and Buan counties, the source of the recent AI outbreaks, and would mean that the risk of birds carrying the virus to other places has increased.
With that in mind, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Tuesday that all ducks within a 3-kilometer radius of the infected farms will be culled.
And From Yonhap News, we get this report:
Yonhap News Agency January 21, 2014 5:50am
S. Korea continues to fight bird flu amid new suspected outbreak
SEJONG, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea continued its efforts to prevent the spread of bird flu Tuesday amid the discovery of a new suspected case of the virus.
With the latest suspected case of avian influenza (AI) at a duck farm in Gochang, 300 kilometers southwest of Seoul in North Jeolla Province, the total number of suspected and confirmed AI cases came to nine.
Four of the cases have been confirmed through DNA tests that identified the highly pathogenic strain of the H5N8 virus.
The new case was reported shortly after the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs noted a three-day cessation in new cases, raising hopes that the virus may have been contained.
In 2011 we saw the massive spread of H5N1 across much of Korea, resulting in the culling of more than 5.5 million birds on nearly 250 farms (see South Korea: Two New Bird Flu Outbreaks Reported). At the time migratory birds were blamed for the introduction of that virus into the poultry industry.
While related to the dreaded H5N1 virus, we have relatively little experience with H5N8 in its highly pathogenic form (see Characterization of three H5N5 and one H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in China).
So questions regarding its source, ability (or lack thereof) to infect humans or mammals, and its rate of spread among poultry are unanswered at this time.
Because a number of H5N8 infected dead Baikal Teal ducks were found at a local reservoir last week, the assumption right now is that these migratory ducks may be the source of the virus (see Korea: Wild Ducks Test Positive For H5N8 Virus). But it is also possible – that, like the poultry - they are secondary victims and another species may be the reservoir host.
Regardless from where the virus was introduced, in the past we’ve seen the movement of poultry, workers, and equipment between farms exacerbate the spread of these avian viruses.
And the history has been - once avian viruses start to spread between farms - they can be very difficult, and quite expensive, to contain.
