Korea is struggling to *contain the spread of avian influenza, also known as bird flu. Bird flu outbreaks have reached Seoul after hitting nearly all other parts of the country. Only Jeju Island has released no report of the *highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.
At first, the disease appeared to be *confined to a few chicken farms in the nation's southwestern region, but it quickly spread across the nation despite *intensified *quarantine efforts.
On May 11, Korea reported a fresh case of bird flu in Seoul, the second outbreak in less than a week in the capital. Seoul is home to about 10 million people. No human infection has been reported in the country.
This year's first outbreak came on April 1.
More than 6.8 million chickens, ducks and other birds have been so far *culled and buried to prevent a further spread of the disease.
To prevent the disease from coming in contact with people, the government shut down *aviaries in amusement parks in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.
In addition, the government banned the *butchering of chickens and ducks at *traditional markets. Many traditional markets have *inadequate *sanitation and people who handle live chickens and ducks put themselves at risk with little protection. Experts said people need to be aware of the risks associated with avian influenza.
Even though no human deaths have been reported in Korea, some 240 people have reportedly died from the deadly H5N1 *strain around the world.
The government also plans to double its *stockpile of the avian influenza drug Tamiflu to cope with humans possibly contracting the disease. The state-run Korea Center for Disease and Control said that it will increase the Tamiflu reserve for up to 2.5 million people, or 5 percent of the country's population.
President Lee Myung-bak told Cabinet ministers to *devise sufficient measures to ease public fears about bird flu. "The people are increasingly concerned about human infection of avian influenza,"President Lee said.
By Shin Yong-bae
The Korean Herald
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