Bird flu spreads to Seoul

Republic of Korea's (ROK) worst outbreak of bird flu has spread to the capital with agriculture ministry officials saying yesterday four dead birds raised at a Seoul district government office had tested positive.

ROK has confirmed 24 cases of the deadly H5N1 strain in poultry in about a month. It has killed more than 5 million chickens and ducks but that has not stopped the virus from spreading at its fastest rate since the country reported its first case in 2003.

The four birds were among 57 chickens, ducks and turkeys raised in pens at the district office in the eastern part of Seoul. The ministry said it would take about a day to confirm if the dead birds had contracted the H5N1 strain.

The city had culled all the birds at the site and was limiting access to a nearby zoo and livestock market, the ministry said.

(China Daily 05/07/2008 page11)