S. Korea reports another highly pathogenic bird flu case

Seoul, Nov 20 (IANS) South Korea confirmed another case of highly pathogenic avian influenza from a local duck farm in the southwestern region, the sixth of its kind this season, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday.The farm in Gangjin, a county about 400 kilometres south of Seoul, was discovered to have a highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 in the process of regular inspection of its poultry, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.The authorities are culling around 24,000 ducks being raised there as a preventive step and have been implementing other quarantine measures while cordoning off the farm, it added.Highly pathogenic avian influenza is very contagious among birds and can cause severe illness and even death, especially in domestic poultry, Yonhap news agency reported.
--IANS int/sks/bg

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