Bird flu: S. Korea Culls 13.6m Poultry Since November – Ministry

• Bird flu, South Korean

South Korean farms have culled 13.6 million poultry nationwide as part of measures to contain the spread of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu, the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on Wednesday.

In late November, South Korea reported the first case of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu at a ducks farm in North Jeolla province.

Previously, cases of infection with the strain were recorded only among wild birds.

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Outbreaks of the virus have since spread to farms across the entire country.

The country’s warning level for avian flu has been raised to “serious danger.”

According to the country’s law, poultry within a radius of three kilometers (1.9 miles) from farms exposed to the strain must be exterminated, with the farms suspending their operation.

In late October, the Asian country registered new cases of the H5N8 flu in wild birds for the first time since 2018.

Apart from South Korea, outbreaks of bird flu have also been recently confirmed in Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, northern Germany, and Belgium.