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A bird flu outbreak in the North Korean capital Pyongyang resulted in the hospitalization of at least one woman with the disease, Japan¡¯s Sankei Shimbun belatedly reported Wednesday.
The paper quoted a source as saying an outbreak in a farming village in September alarmed Kim Jong-il, who worried about a fresh pandemic among birds and instructed the party and all government organizations to prepare thorough defenses against avian influenza. At the end of last year, infected chickens were found in three locations in the capital including Gwangbok Street, resulting in the dispatch of troops to cull poultry and disinfect the area.
It appears the infected woman caught the disease from birds, and there have been no reports of a mutation of the avian flu virus capable of human-to-human transmission.
The paper reported speculation that Kim asked for Chinese help during his secretive nine-day visit to that country starting Jan. 10. The paper quoted reports that the North Korean leader underwent a checkup at the People¡¯s Liberation Army 301 Hospital in downtown Beijing, speculating that Kim may have wanted to make sure that he himself had not contracted bird flu .
The Japanese public safety authorities are investigating the Korean Association of Science and Technology in Japan (KAST) under the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) for taking 10 bags of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu to North Korea last September.
The information was confirmed by Rescue the North Korean People Urgent Action Network (RENK), a non-governmental organization. ¡°Since there is a risk that the epidemic will spread to other areas, the North Korean government should promptly publish all relevant related information and take steps to combat it,¡± the group said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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