South Korea: Early bird flu, all poultry in Seoul were killed

South Korean officials said today that all poultry in Seoul Capital have been killed to prevent a new outbreak of bird flu in the city from spreading to other places.

Quarantine forces destroyed 15,000 chickens, ducks, pheasants, and turkeys raised on farms, in restaurants, schools and houses in the capital, Mr. Kim Yoon-kyu, a Seoul government official said.

Seoul authorities said that killing poultry is necessary to curb the spread. In addition, the government will focus on preventing bringing live birds from outside into the capital.

The destruction of poultry began in the evening of May 11, a few hours after authorities confirmed the second bird flu outbreak in the capital in less than a week.

(Photo: Reuters)

This destruction does not affect parrots, canaries due to this type can rarely spread the disease, Kim said.

Currently, tests are underway to determine whether the outbreak is due to the dangerous H5N1 virus, said Kim Chang-seop, an Agriculture Ministry official. According to the official, the results may only be available as early as tonight.

Outside Seoul, two H5N1 outbreaks were detected at poultry farms in Busan and Ansung yesterday, Kim said. This is the first time the H5N1 virus has been found in Busan, the second largest city in Korea, he said.

(Photo: Reuters)

Agriculture Ministry spokesman Yoon Young-ku said it was the 27th and 28th outbreak outbreak due to the H5N1 virus.

Bird flu began sweeping south of Korea last month, forcing the government to destroy 6.8 million poultry. The virus has not yet spread to humans, but scientists fear it could mutate and become easily transmitted from person to person, with the ability to kill millions of people worldwide.

Since 2003, at least 241 people worldwide have died from bird flu, the World Health Organization said. Most of the victims killed were exposed to sick poultry.