Seoul: Bird flu outbreaks have spread to most of South Korea despite the massive culling of chickens and ducks across the country, the agriculture ministry said today.
The latest outbreak reported last weekend in the eastern city of Chuncheon is now confirmed to have been caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, the ministry said.
It has brought to 35 the total number of bird flu cases in South Korea. The outbreak has spread as far north as Seoul and to the southeastern cities of Ulsan and Daegu.
The ministry also said two suspected cases had been reported in the southeastern city of Busan, the country's largest port.
More than 6.7 million chickens and ducks have been slaughtered since the latest bird flu outbreak was reported on April 1.
The previous outbreak was between November 2006 and March last year. South Korea has not recorded any human cases of bird flu. A soldier taken to hospital last month was found not to have the disease.
The agriculture ministry said quarantine authorities were continuing to decontaminate all aviaries and poultry farms in Seoul and public access has been limited to those areas.
The H5N1 strain has killed more than 240 people worldwide since late 2003.
