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Following the discovery of the avian flu virus in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province and in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, the deadly form of bird flu appears to be sweeping across the nation, as reports of more cases have come in from South Jeolla Province and North Gyeongsang Province.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MOAF) said Sunday that by late Friday reports of suspected avian flu cases have been made by a poultry farm in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, a duck farm in Naju, South Jeolla Province, and another duck farm in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. In response, the ministry has launched detailed inspections of the farms.
The results of the inspections will be known by Tuesday, the ministry said.
An official at the ministry's livestock quarantine section said that livestock ranchers across the nation have been filing reports of suspected bird flu, and that the ministry would put a temporary ban on the transportation of chickens and ducks in the Gyeongju and Naju areas.
The Ministry also said that it has been conducting inspections in three areas that have been suspected of being contaminated by the avian flu, including two sites in Jiksan, Cheonan and one in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.
The ministry also said a case of avian flu has been confirmed at a duck farm in Buk-myeong, Cheonan, just outside the government-designated danger area -- a three-kilometer radius from the initial outbreak in Eumseong-gun, North Chungcheong Province.
As the duck firm in Cheonan has been supplying chicks to 22 duck farms across the country, sparking fears that the farm has spread the avian flu nationwide. The quarantine authorities are conducting serum tests on farms that have been selling chicks.
All of the 40,000 ducks raised inside the danger area in Eumseong and the 4,700 ducks at the Cheonan farm are to be killed and buried, the ministry said. From the first outbreak of the bird flu until Sunday, a total of 610,000 chicks and ducks have or are to be slaughtered and buried.
After a meeting supervised by Prime Minister Goh Kun, the government decided to spend about W3 billion to purchase 2.5 million chickens to aid the affected farms.
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