SKorea upgrades bird flu alert, troops on standby

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

SEOUL (AFP) — South Korea on Wednesday issued a nationwide bird flu alert, deployed troops and put firefighters on standby to try to contain the spread of the disease, officials said.

The agriculture ministry said in a statement the "orange" vigilance level was extended to the whole country after previously covering only the badly hit southwest.

The ministry said it had confirmed 20 outbreaks involving the H5 virus, of which at least six were the deadly H5N1 subtype, since the first case was reported in Gimje, 260 kilometres (162 miles) south of Seoul, in early April.

It is investigating 14 more suspected cases, including one on a farm in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometres south of Seoul.

Officials have slaughtered 2.2 million chickens and ducks in and around...