Highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak detected in South Korea

South Korea's Agricultural Ministry confirmed on Sunday the detection of a fresh bird flu case, which is highly pathogenic, at a poultry farm in the port city of Busan.

The authorities conducted tests on 6,000 birds in the farm after some of the birds died after being brought from another part of the country, Yonhap agency reported.

The ministry would carry out further analysis and it has also decided on culling all the birds at the infected farm and restricting movement in the area to control the outbreak, reports Efe.

The birds that died were from Gunsan region and sold to poultry farms across the country.

Following a bird flu outbreak in November 2016, the South Korean authorities culled more than 33 million birds, making it the most extensive containment effort ever carried out in the country.

The mass culling caused a shortage of eggs in the country for months, forcing South Korea to import around 25 million eggs from the US and Spain.

--IANS

mr/