S. Korean gov`t issues bird flu warning

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government on Wednesday issued a nationwide bird flu alert as migratory birds started arriving in the country for winter.

The precautionary alert calls for poultry farmers and butchering facilities to
carefully monitor birds they handle, and for quarantine authorities to check for
sick travellers arriving from countries that have reported bird flu outbreaks,
the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.
Thailand reported a virulent outbreak of the avian influenza on Monday.
The ministry said inspectors will visit bird sanctuaries and rookeries where
migratory birds gather in large numbers and conduct regular visits to bird farms
across the country. Large poultry farms and vehicles used to move birds must be
decontaminated on a regular basis.
Past outbreaks in the country have been associated with migratory birds that
transmit the disease to domestic birds.
Authorities said that if an outbreak takes place, all actions will be taken to
prevent the disease from spreading.
The country has been hit three times with avian influenza, with the latest
outbreak occurring in April and resulting in a record 8.46 million birds being
culled at the cost of around 264 billion won (US$195 million).
The previous outbreaks took place in the winter months of 2003-2004 and 2006-2007.
No cases of human infection were reported in the latest outbreak, although the
government said 10 South Koreans were infected in the two previous outbreaks
without developing any symptoms.
Worldwide, 245 human deaths have been reported in 48 countries.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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