SK to slaughter 236 000 poultry
25/11/2006 19:16  - (SA)  

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Seoul - South Korean quarantine officials will slaughter 236 000 poultry after an outbreak of the virulent H5N1 form of bird flu at a chicken farm, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday.

The outbreak occurred at a farm in Iksan, about 250km south of Seoul, earlier this week, resulting in the deaths of 6 700 chickens.

Test results confirmed that the outbreak was caused by a "highly pathogenic" type of H5N1 virus, the ministry said in a statement.

It said 236 000 poultry within a 500m radius of the outbreak site would be slaughtered to keep the virus from spreading.

The "highly pathogenic" type of H5N1 can be lethal to poultry but poses little risk to people, said Kwon Jun-wook, an official at the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kim Joo-il, an official at Iksan city hall, said the owner of the chicken farm has so far showed no signs of illness.

South Korea killed 5.3m birds during the last known outbreak of bird flu in 2003.

The H5N1 virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003 and has killed at least 153 people worldwide.

Most human cases have resulted from contact with infected birds. Scientists fear that the virus could mutate into a form, which is more easily transmitted between people, possibly creating a pandemic that could kill millions.

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