Deadly strain of bird flu breaks out in South Korea

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has broken out among poultry in South Korea for the first time in more than a year, the Agriculture Ministry said. Government tests confirmed that the H5N1 strain of the virus infected chickens on a farm in Gimje, about 260 kilometers south of Seoul, a statement from the ministry said Thursday. All 308,000 chickens at seven farms near the outbreak site will be killed and their eggs destroyed, the statement said. The ministry said it would ban any moving of about 3.57 million poultry on 265 farms within 10 kilometers of the outbreak site as a precaution.