Seoul, December 9 (IANS). There is news of the spread of extremely dangerous avian influenza in South Korea. On Tuesday, a duck farm in South Jeolla province was affected. According to the administration, this is the 8th case to hit any poultry farm this season.
It was detected in Yeongam, 380 kilometers south of Seoul, and is the first case from a duck farm this season, Yonhap News Agency quoted officials overseeing agricultural sector administrative activities as saying.
Authorities have issued a 24-hour closure order on all duck farms, their associated sites and vehicles across the country.
The government said it is planning to thoroughly inspect all the duck farms in the area.
It has also advised farmers to avoid visiting places inhabited by migratory birds and adopt basic prevention methods like changing shoes before entering the enclosure.
Yonhap News Agency had reported last month that South Korea would strengthen quarantine efforts to prevent the further spread of avian influenza (AI) during the cold season.
The Central Disaster Management Headquarters (CDMH) said six cases of widespread AI in poultry farms and 10 cases of AI in wild birds have been confirmed since the start of the cold season. The first case was detected in September at a poultry farm in Paju, about 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul.
In the month of November itself, the presence of dangerous AI was detected in four poultry farm birds and seven wild birds.
The CDMH said it has conducted a detailed examination of soil and wild bird feather samples collected from migratory bird habitats, rivers and areas near the affected farms, and the results have revealed that such places are rich in filth.
According to a survey conducted by the Environment Ministry on migratory birds in winter, 13.3 lakh birds came to the country in November, which is 111.4 percent more than the previous month.
In view of this situation, officials are planning to further strengthen quarantine methods in poultry farms across the country. For this, intensive disinfection operations will be carried out by deploying all available disinfection vehicles and special inspection will be done in those cities and towns where the number of poultry is high and the disease has spread earlier also.
–IANS
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