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SEOUL: Bird flu outbreaks are spreading in South Korea despite mass culls and other efforts to contain the deadly virus, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.
More suspected cases were reported at three duck farms in the southern county of Jeongeup, 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Seoul, bringing to eight the number of confirmed or suspected outbreaks this month.
"Anti-epidemic measures were strengthened in Jeongeup," where 150,000 ducks at nine farms were to be culled and buried starting Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement.
It also said an outbreak previously reported at a duck farm in Jeongeup was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, the third such confirmation.
Since this year's first case of bird flu was confirmed at a chicken farm in Gimje, next to Jeongeup, some 244,000 ducks and chickens have been killed and buried to prevent the spread of the disease.
The ministry has also imposed restrictions on the movement of birds, people and vehicles in Jeongeup.
South Korea reported seven cases of H5N1 infection between November 2006 and March last year, resulting in the temporary suspension of poultry exports to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere.
But last June the World Organisation for Animal Health classified the country as free from avian influenza.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 230 people worldwide since late 2003. No South Koreans have contracted the virus.
Experts fear the virus, which is usually spread directly from birds to humans, could mutate into a form easily transmissible between people and spark a deadly global pandemic. - AFP/ac
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