AI Warning Expanded Nationwide

With signs that avian influenza is spreading across the entire nation, the government has raised the level of warning against it. Avian flu virus was detected in Sunchang County, North Jeolla Province.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced on Wednesday that it expanded its “alert” from North and South Jeolla Province to the entire nation.

A four-tier alert system indicates increasing risk, in the order of Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Red.

With the issuance of a “warning alert,” situation rooms in each province have now become situation headquarters while other situation rooms are set up in cities and counties. In an emergency situation, police and military forces can also be mobilized.

On the same day, the ministry said an avian flu case was confirmed at a duck farm in Sunchang County. On April 10, the National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service announced that the farm was not infected with avail flu.

This farm is far off from the existing quarantine areas of Gimje and Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province and Yeongam County in South Jeolla Province. A case of bird flu detected in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province was confirmed to be the highly pathogenic avian influenza. As of Wednesday, 12 of the 36 reported cases were found to have the disease.

From 2003 to 2004, 19 of 56 reported cases were confirmed to be avian flu. From 2006 to 2007, seven of the 24 reported cases were confirmed to avian flu. This year falls between the two periods in the number of confirmed cases.

On the same day, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) said the company and poultry farms were insured with NH avian influenza insurance, which for a year pays the insured up to two billion won once the policyholder’s chicken, ducks or slaughterhouses are designated by the government to be contaminated with AI.