Korea Government even called for slaughtering of 577dogs due to bird flu!!

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Date : Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:58:58 +0900 (KST)

Subject : Korea Government even called for slaughtering of 577dogs due to bird

flu!!

 

Korea on alert for fatal bird flu

 

Korea Hearld 11,7 Nov

 

The government's confirmation of a fatal type of bird flu that broke out last

week has led to the slaughter of thousands of chickens and hundreds of dogs and

pigs near the affected poultry farm in the southwest of the country.

 

The Agriculture Ministry said on Saturday that the bird flu outbreak at the farm

in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, was caused by a highly virulent H5N1 strain of

avian influenza. It is the country's first outbreak in three years.

 

Following the mandate of the National Security Council, the government yesterday

ordered the culling of 236,000 chickens and ducks at six farms within a

500-meter radius of the initially-infected farm in Iksan, about 250 kilometers

south of Seoul. The quarantine also called for the slaughtering of 300 pigs and

577 dogs within the area.

 

An excavator digs deep pits to bury slaughtered poultry in Iksan yesterday as

part of efforts to prevent the spread of bird flu. [The Korea Herald]Agriculture

Minister Park Hong-soo yesterday held an emergency breakfast meeting with senior

ministry officials to discuss anti-epidemic measures and prevent the spread of

the contagious virus. The government also quarantined a 10-kilometer radius of

the Iksan farm and said it will order additional culling based on test results

of livestock in a three-kilometer radius. The movement of chickens, birds and

eggs within a 10-kilometer radius has been banned.

 

The Agriculture Ministry on Thursday said it suspected bird flu had killed about

6,000 chickens on the Iksan farm.

 

The discovery comes as the country is already on a high bird flu alert as

migratory birds, which can easily spread the life-threatening disease, fly to

the Korean Peninsula for the winter, the ministry said. Iksan lies on the

pathway of the migratory birds.

 

Quarantine authorities have banned the shipment of more than 5 million poultry

from 221 farms within a 10-km radius of the Iksan farm.

 

No local residents or quarantine officials have been infected so far, the

Agriculture Ministry said.

 

To ease public fears, however, the ministry said it will launch a campaign to

raise awareness that bird flu cannot harm humans if the poultry is well cooked.

 

The effort will include Prime Minister Han Meong-sook visiting the ministry

complex in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, and going out for chicken soup with

agriculture ministry officials, the ministry said.

 

Japan suspended poultry imports from Korea on Thursday. It asked for more

detailed information from the Korean government.

 

Korea reported its first outbreak of H5N1 in December 2003. About 5.3 million

chickens and ducks valued at 150 billion won ($161 million) were slaughtered

within four months.

 

The H5N1 virus is known to have infected 258 people in 10 countries over the

past three years, killing 153 of them, according to the Geneva-based World

Health Organization. Seventy-five deaths have been recorded by the WHO this

year. This is more than the United Nations agency counted in the previous two

years combined.

 

So far, Korea has reported no human H5N1 cases, according to the WHO.

 

(sohjung)

 

By Yoo Soh-jung

 

petition!!! http://www.maf.go.kr -> This address is the Ministry of Agriculture

in Korea.

 

from KARA in Korea http://www.hanafos.com