hankyoreh

Bird flu outbreaks first reported early this month have spread to within 70 kilometers of Seoul despite efforts by quarantine authorities to contain the disease, the government said Tuesday.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the chicken farm in Pyeongtaek that reported sudden deaths of its birds on Monday tested positive for the H5 strain of the avian virus. It said further tests will be carried out to determine if sudden deaths were caused by the virulent H5N1 type of the virus that can be transmitted to humans through mutations.

The confirmation of the Pyeongtaek outbreak in Gyeonggi province is a clear sign that the outbreak centered in the Jeolla region in the southwestern part of the country is spreading.

Kim Chang-seob, the ministry's chief veterinary officer, said 23,000 birds at the farm in Gyeonggi province are being culled, while all movement of animals, people and vehicles within a 10-kilometer radius is being strictly controlled.

He added that if tests show the chickens had died from the virulent form of the H5 strain, all birds raised in the nine poultry farms within 3 kilometers will be destroyed as a preventative measure.

In addition to the outbreak in Pyeongtaek, the ministry said three other cases were reported in the Jeolla region, bringing the total number of reported cases to 36.

Of these, 20 have tested positive for bird flu virus, with others undergoing testing.

Expert said they have no exact numbers of birds that have been culled so far but hinted that this could be the most serious outbreak yet.

In the winter of 2003, authorities culled around 5.6 million birds, while in the outbreak in 2006 about 2.8 million birds were destroyed.

SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap)