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South Korea on Wednesday confirmed another highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) case from local poultry farms, sparking further concerns over possible nationwide transmission of the disease.
A suspected case reported from an egg farm in Sangju, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, earlier this week tested to be highly pathogenic, according to local authorities.
On Saturday, South Korea confirmed a highly pathogenic AI case at a duck farm in Jeongeup. It marked the first such case to be reported from a poultry farm since March 2018.
South Korea has raised its guard against the disease since late October, when it found a highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of bird flu near a creek in Cheonan, 92 km south of Seoul. It was the first confirmed case of avian influenza from wild birds in 32 months.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said earlier in the day that two additional cases from wild birds were confirmed, in Anseong, 77 kilometers south of Seoul, and Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province, raising the total cases here since October to 12.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and even death in poultry.
"Considering that the country has confirmed 12 highly pathogenic AI cases from wild birds since October, we are in a critical situation," an official from the ministry said. (Yonhap)
