login
Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
South Korea Takes Steps to Combat Its Worst Outbreak of Bird Flu
In the capital Seoul, all 15,000 chickens, ducks and other fowl -- including pet birds in school aviaries -- have been culled after a second case of the potentially deadly H5N1 virus was confirmed there.
Nationwide, more than 6.8 million chickens and ducks have been slaughtered since the latest outbreak began around April 1. But the ministry has reported 40 cases of bird flu at 31 places nationwide.
An association of poultry breeders estimated losses at 500 billion won (478 million dollars).
The agriculture ministry said it would restrict the distribution and sale of live poultry for human consumption. It has already banned the butchering of chickens and other poultry at traditional markets.
"The government will take strong steps to stop the spread of bird flu, which is causing enormous damage to our poultry industry," an agriculture official told AFP.
The H5N1 strain has also spread to Busan, the country’s second largest city, where officials plan to cull some 4,000 birds.
Police have also stepped up a crackdown on smugglers selling infected birds.
They are questioning six poultry breeders and distributors who have sold thousands of culled ducks for dogfood and hundreds of ducks from infected farms to chicken food stores, Yonhap news agency said.
No human infections have been confirmed in South Korea even though the H5N1 strain has killed more than 240 people worldwide since late 2003.
In the country’s 2003-2004 outbreak 5.28 million birds were culled while a 2006-2007 outbreak resulted in 2.8 million birds being destroyed.
Source-AFP
SPH
|
|
 Comment & Contribute
|
- Health News Index
- News Quick Links
 |
Flu
Complete Medindia Resources
|
| News Categories: |
| » | Research: Bright Colored Chips can Cut Consumption by Half |
| » | Olympic Athlete's Body Via the 80-10-10 Raw Vegan Diet |
| » | Importance of Canned Foods To Help Tackle IOM Weight Of The Nation Recommendations, Highlights Study |
| » | US Rules Pomegranate Juice Claims Deceptive |
| » | Reducing Entrée Size Could Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Children |
| More Diet News | |
|
