South Korea Sees New Case of Avian Influenza at Local Farm
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Seoul, Dec 22 (NationPress) South Korea has reported its 14th case of highly pathogenic avian influenza for the current season at a farm situated near the capital city of Seoul, according to officials on Sunday.
The recent case was identified at a poultry farm in Hwaseong, just south of Seoul, which is raising 202 chickens and 67 wild geese, as per the agriculture ministry, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.
To curb the potential spread, authorities have implemented measures to restrict access to the farm for investigative purposes and have culled the affected chickens and wild geese.
The Gyeonggi provincial government is set to conduct inspections on 18 poultry farms in Gimpo, located 38 kilometers west of Seoul, by Tuesday.
In the previous week, another case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) was confirmed at a duck farm in the southwestern region. This latest case was found at a duck farm in Buan county in North Jeolla Province, approximately 190 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the authorities.
Simultaneously, California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in response to the outbreak of Avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly referred to as bird flu, which has affected 34 individuals in the Golden State.
As stated by the governor's office, this decision was made as cases were identified in dairy cows on farms in Southern California, highlighting the necessity to enhance monitoring efforts and build upon the coordinated statewide strategy to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus.
To date, no incidents of person-to-person transmission of bird flu have been observed in California, and nearly all infected individuals had contact with infected cattle.
The bird flu virus was first identified in the United States in the wild bird population in South Carolina in January 2022, followed by its detection in California's wild bird population in July 2022.
