South Korea Reports Fifth Highly Infectious Bird Flu Case On Chicken Farm

Illustration of chicken farming (Wikimedia Commons Matthew T Rader)

JAKARTA - South Korea on Monday reported the latest case of highly pathogenic bird flu (AI) at an laying hen farm in southern Gyeonggi Province, marking the fifth case since winter began.

H5N1 bird flu was detected on a farm in Hwaseong, southern Gyeonggi Province, which has reported two more cases of bird flu in the past five years, according to the Central Disaster Management Headquarters (CDMH).

This marks the fifth highly pathogenic case of AI in the Ginseng Country since September, when temperatures began to drop, and the second case at a laying hen farm.

The CDMH said it would conduct a special quarantine inspection of around 230 laying hens where the previous bird flu cases spread, while strengthening monitoring of vehicles visiting affected farms to prevent further disease spread.

"Avian flu outbreaks recently on poultry farms have been repeatedly confirmed in the southern Gyeonggi region, but with the arrival of winter migrant birds into the country and the detection of highly pathogenic AI cases of wild poultry in six different regions, there is a high risk of additional outbreaks anywhere in the country," said Lee Dong-sik, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture in charge of quarantine policy, in a press release. November 17th.

Lee appealed to all poultry farm workers and related personnel across the country to remain vigilant and "strictly" following quarantine measures, such as controlling the entry of people and vehicles on farms and implementing disinfectants.