.contact us |.about us
    News > International News ... ...
    Search:
        Advertisement
    South Korea's bird flu spreading fast nationwide
    ( 2003-12-23 17:44) (Agencies)

    South Korea tested fresh cases of suspected bird flu among ducks Tuesday in its battle against the highly contagious disease that has attacked the country's poultry sector and scared off consumers.
    South Korea's bird flu spreading fast nationwide
    A South Korean merchant chops chicken at a market in Seoul on December 22, 2003. South Korea, grappling with a highly contagious strain of bird flu, agreed on measures to contain the outbreak and to limit its impact on the poultry industry.  [Reuters]
    Your Annual PC Tune-up Rev up your PC for 2004 with our annual tune-up guide, plus must-have free utilities and maintenance tips to keep your PC purring.

    The latest cases of avian influenza -- which in rare cases can be deadly to humans -- have been traced to duck breeding farms South Cholla province, home to half of South Korea's eight-million ducks.

    Agriculture ministry authorities said about half of the target of one million chickens and ducks had been slaughtered and buried. The cull included thousands of chickens, who died instantly after contracting the flu.

    "We will complete the slaughter today or tomorrow," Kim Dal-joong, senior agriculture ministry official, told reporters.

    The farm ministry said in a statement that 13 suspected cases were being tested, including seven new overnight reports.

    Recent cases found in ducks -- which show symptoms of the disease more slowly than chickens -- were traced to breeding centers which had shipped ducklings to farms before avian influenza was diagnosed, ministry officials said.

    Since authorities confirmed the first bird flu among chickens at a farm 80 km (50 miles) southeast of Seoul, cases have been confirmed at eight poultry farms across South Korea.

    CONSUMERS PANIC

    Although experts say properly cooked poultry is harmless to humans, consumers have been shunning duck and chicken -- ignoring exhortations by government officials who have been eating poultry dishes on television almost every day.

    "Like most bird flu types, this does not seem to affect humans," Kim Moon-shik, director general at National Institute of Health, told Reuters.

    Kim said almost a thousand of people living in the affected areas have been given blood tests and monitored but no one has shown symptoms of the disease. In rare cases, bird flu is lethal to humans, with a virus incubation period of four to five days.

    Authorities are waiting for U.S. test results to determine if the latest virus is genetically similar to the H5N1 variant of avian influenza that killed six people in Hong Kong in 1997 and 1998.

    Since the bird flu outbreak, chicken and duck restaurants have suffered canceled reservations and empty seats. South Korea's modest poultry exports to Japan, Hong Kong and China have halted since the disease was confirmed last week.

    Hit by falling demand, the country's biggest two poultry producers, Halim and Maniker, saw their share prices falter early this week to recover slowly Tuesday. Meanwhile, shares of fish processing firms have surged in anticipation of bullish demand.

    Authorities were disinfecting chicken farms to protect the country 100 million chickens. Taking no chances, the government also sprayed zoos to protect rare birds from the avian flu.

    Farm authorities told farmers to stay away from places where migratory birds gather because wild fowl are one suspected source of the disease.

     
    Close  
       
      Today's Top News   Top International News
       
    +WHO: Bird flu death rises to 15; vaccination recommended
    (2004-02-05)
    +Solana: EU ready to lift China arms embargo
    (2004-02-05)
    +Nation tops TV, cell phone, monitor production
    (2004-02-05)
    +Absence ... still makes China hot
    (2004-02-05)
    +Hu: Developing world in key role
    (2004-02-04)
    +WHO: Bird flu death rises to 15; vaccination recommended
    (2004-02-05)
    +Solana: EU ready to lift China arms embargo
    (2004-02-05)
    +US court clears way for gay marriages
    (2004-02-05)
    +Pakistan nuke scientist asks forgiveness
    (2004-02-05)
    +Sharon ready for referendum on scrapping settlements
    (2004-02-05)
       
      Go to Another Section  
         
     
     
         
      Article Tools  
         
     
     
         
       
            .contact us |.about us
      Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved  
    久久久久久亚洲精品无码| 成人午夜福利免费无码视频| 中文字幕精品亚洲无线码一区应用| 国产精品亚韩精品无码a在线| 中文字幕亚洲图片| 亚洲成a人无码av波多野按摩| 日日麻批免费40分钟无码| 久久丝袜精品中文字幕| 亚洲精品人成无码中文毛片| 亚洲AV无码久久精品蜜桃| 日日麻批免费40分钟无码| 中文字幕一区二区三区在线观看 | 中文字幕不卡亚洲| 美丽姑娘免费观看在线观看中文版| 成人午夜福利免费无码视频| 无码人妻一区二区三区兔费| 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区综合部 | 爆操夜夜操天天操狠操中文| 四虎国产精品永久在线无码| 久久无码av三级| 精品久久久久久无码专区不卡| 亚洲AV无码日韩AV无码导航| 成人A片产无码免费视频在线观看| 狠狠综合久久综合中文88| 日本中文字幕网站| 国产中文字幕在线视频| 中文字幕无码一区二区免费| 天堂在线最新版资源www中文| 无码色AV一二区在线播放| 中文字幕无码不卡免费视频| 中国少妇无码专区| 中文字幕乱码无码人妻系列蜜桃| 在线欧美中文字幕农村电影| 国产精品 中文字幕 亚洲 欧美 | 99久久无色码中文字幕人妻| 无码人妻精品一区二区蜜桃百度 | 最近免费中文字幕大全高清大全1| 亚洲va中文字幕无码久久| 亚洲高清有码中文字| 99精品久久久久中文字幕| 最近2019好看的中文字幕 |