AI Disinfection – Credit MAFRA
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Up until now, the detection of the H5N8 avian flu virus in South Korea has been limited to duck farms and a few instances of migratory waterfowl (ducks, geese), but overnight Korea’s MAFRA (Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs) is reporting the detection of the virus at a chicken farm some 80 km north of the original outbreak, in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province.
The susceptibility of ducks to this virus is not unexpected, as waterfowl are the traditional host species for avian influenzas, but the inclusion of chickens to the equation greatly increases the potential impact of this viral outbreak.
Accordingly, authorities are now considering a nationwide lockdown on poultry farms, to prevent the spread of the virus. This report from the Korea Herald.
Officials consider nationwide lockdown on poultry farms
First H5N8 infection confirmed in chickens
The government is considering ordering a lockdown at all poultry farms in the country to prevent the avian influenza virus spreading further, officials said Sunday.
If the government imposes the order, all poultry, workers and vehicles from farms will be banned from moving for 48 hours. The lockdown procedure can be continued for another two days, officials added.
The move came after the first H5N8 infection in chickens was reported Saturday, adding to concerns of a recent upturn in the disease’s spread in Korea.
In the 9 days since this outbreak was first reported, roughly 500,000 ducks have been destroyed to prevent the spread of this virus. Now, another 1.47 million chickens – located in 42 farms surrounding the H5N8 positive chicken – will be culled as well.
The last HPAI (H5N1) outbreak in Korea was in 2011, and it resulted in the destruction of 5.5 million birds, and a loss of $75 million dollars.
As with much of Asia, Korea celebrates the Lunar New Year (Seollal) next week, where roughly half the nation’s population travel back to hometowns to see family and friends. Last year, more than 29 million Koreans made such visits.
While we’ve no indication that this virus infects humans, given the history with H5N1, this massive movement of people and vehicles during the midst of a major HPAI outbreak adds another dimension of concern for authorities.
Ten days ago, few people had heard of the H5N8 virus, and we’d really only seen it in a LPAI (Low Path Avian Influenza) form, so there is much we still don’t know about this emerging virus, including its exact host species (migratory ducks or geese are suspected), and how it has spread so widely in Korea without being detected sooner.
Quite obviously, agricultural interests in China and Japan are watching Korea’s efforts closely, as history has shown that avian viruses show little regard for international boundaries or borders.
