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we start with the latest on the bird flu crisis here in korea...
nearly 300-thousand ducks and chickens have been culled so far... all in korea's south
western jeollabuk-do province. so far.. the number of confirmed bird flu
cases stands at eight. facing the unenviable task of trying to contain
the highly pathogenic h5n8 strain quarantine officials have been working around the clock
and have reinforced stricter measures. for more we are going to connect live to connie
lee who is out on the field in jeollabukdo -province.
connie what is the situation like there
if you come to this area... about 300 kilometers south of seoul... you'll see a lot of quarantine
officials in their full gear and a lot of barricades like this one.
as you can see i'm standing in front of a do not enter sign and some safety lines that
have been put up about 100 meters away from a farm that is suspected of being infected
with this latest bird flu outbreak. now this is just one of many barriers placed
around suspected areas here in jeollabuk- do province...
**b-roll play **} where health officials are working around
the clock.. despite the cold and the heavy snow that fell yesterday.
all vehicles are being sterilized in this area... and reservoirs are being disinfected
. safety measures have been intensified with
the government now ordering even more duc ks to be culled.
up until yesterday the government had ordered that all ducks within a 500-meter radius of
an infected farm be slaughtered... but that limit now stands at three kilometers -- so
much wider now. i was here when that mandate fell... and within
a few hours... my crew and i saw quarantine officials and tractors going into different
farms to start destroying the birds. with the expanded limit... officials expect
an additional 135-thousand ducks to be killed in this area.
this new order comes as there are reports of new cases in the area... correct
yes there are suspected cases popping up all around this area... suggesting the migratory birds which
were first found to be infected with the h 5n8 strain... could be spreading the virus
around the country. officials are trying to track the birds and
are disinfecting areas where they are likely to land.
there are no cases of the h5n8 strain infect ing humans... and officials are keen to stress
that the people who normally get infected with bird flu are the ones who directly or
indirectly come in contact with a sick bird .. or its feces.
so accordingly health officials have put all farmers in the nation on high alert.
you-sun mark.
thanks for your report connie. that was our connie lee reporting from korea's
southwestern jeollabuk-do province on the latest developments in the bird flu crisis
... that looks to be spreading despite the best efforts of quarantine officials.