Bird Flu Under Control in South Korea - SOUTH KOREA - The South Korean government reported today that there were no new suspected cases of the deadly bird flu for consecutive six days, which means the spread of the disease is well under control.

The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry also said three additional suspected cases reported earlier tested negative for the H5N1 virus that causes the disease, increasing the number of proven negative cases to 35.

"The spread of the disease is under control but we will maintain heightened quarantine measures," said Kim Chang-seop, chief of the livestock quarantine department at the ministry.

Since the disease surfaced on Dec. 15, chickens and ducks at 14 farms in North Chungcheong Province, the center of the outbreak, have tested positive for the virus, a variant of that which killed several people in Hong Kong last year.

There were, however, no signs that the disease has crossed the species barrier to humans in South Korea. None of the more than 1,500 people who were exposed to the flu have shown any symptoms, health officials said.

Agriculture and quarantine officials have been battling to stem the spread of the highly contagious disease. Nearly 2 million chickens and ducks have been culled.

Although most strains of H5N1 are not transmittable to humans, South Koreans are avoiding eating chicken or duck, causing prices to drop by nearly 40%.

Source: eFeedLink - 2nd January 2004