|
SEOUL - SOUTH Korea on Thursday reported a new suspected bird flu outbreak, as officials confirmed two more cases of the disease despite a massive poultry cull.
Experts have travelled to the southern port city of Busan following a report of chickens dying suddenly, the agriculture ministry said.
It said two outbreaks reported earlier in North Kyeongsang province had been confirmed as the virulent H5N1 strain of the disease.
More than five million chickens and ducks have been slaughtered since the latest outbreak was reported on April 1, the ministry said.
South Korea reported seven cases of H5N1 infection between November 2006 and March last year, resulting in the temporary suspension of poultry exports to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere.
But last June, the World Organisation for Animal Health classified the country as free from the disease.
The H5N1 strain has killed more than 240 people worldwide since late 2003.
No South Koreans are known to have contracted the disease. -- AFP
|
