South Korea Thursday reported a possible bird flu outbreak after 6,000 chickens on one farm died in three days - the first suspected cases since the country declared itself free of the disease last December.
The agriculture ministry ordered the culling of the remaining 6,000 birds on the farm in the southern city of Iksan, a major centre for the country's poultry industry.
It sent an emergency supply of Tamiflu for 50 people and influenza vaccines for another 300. Kim Chang-Seob, the ministry's chief veterinary officer, said the government received word of the outbreak Wednesday, and from the large number of deaths it suspected the virus may be a virulent strain.
The result of tests on the virus was expected late Saturday. The ministry banned shipments to and from six farms within a 500-metre radius of the affected one. It said the area would be expanded if the bird flu virus is confirmed.
More than 200 poultry farms are within 10 km of the affected one, as is the country's top chicken meat processor Halim, which is supplied by them. Halim supplies 20 to 25 percent of the country's demand for chicken and also export cooked chicken to Japan and other countries.