[Aju News DB]
South Korea will issue a nationwide "standstill" this week to restrict the movement of livestock, people, and equipment for the disinfection of all poultry farms in an effort to stop the rapid spread of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, officials said Monday.
Since H5N6, a new type of virus, was detected for the first time in South Korea on November 16, some 8.87 million ducks and chickens have been culled.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn called for "pre-emptive" sanitary measures across the nation after issuing a two-day standstill that would take effect at midnight Monday.
The agriculture ministry has voiced concerns that this year's bird flu outbreak brought first by migratory birds would break a record set in 2014 when South Korea culled 14 million ducks and chickens for six months. H5N6, which killed six people in China, has caused a higher mortality rate than previous cases.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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