Authorities in Gyeongbuk Province, South Korea, culled 390,000 laying hens at a farm hit by highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), officials confirmed recently.
Timeline of the Outbreak
Suspicion first emerged on June 6 at a laying hen operation in Bonghwa County. Veterinary experts confirmed the H5N1 strain on June 7 after testing samples from sick birds.
Immediate Containment Measures
Officials imposed a 24-hour movement standstill from noon on June 7 until noon on June 8 across nearby farms and related facilities, including vehicles and feed operations. Emergency disinfection followed at the site.
Within a 10-kilometer quarantine radius, teams inspected 36 poultry farms housing 4.63 million birds, conducting surveillance and precise sampling.
Extended Disinfection Efforts
Response teams targeted 29 related sites, including eight vehicles, 19 farm buildings, and two feed facilities. All operations suspended temporarily, with entrance sealing and thorough disinfection underway.
Official Response
Park Chan-guk, chief of Gyeongbuk Province’s Livestock and Agricultural Products Distribution Bureau, urged: “Concentrate all efforts on swiftly culling infected livestock at outbreak farms and preventing further spread.”
