On the 14th, a highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) virus, H5N1, was detected in a wild mandarin duck captured at Cheongmicheon Stream in Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, as announced by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 17th.
The detection of the H5N1 highly pathogenic AI virus is the first of the current winter season, which spans from September to April of the following year. In neighboring Japan, the highly pathogenic H5N1 AI virus was reported on two occasions, on September 30th and October 8th.
This is not the first detection of a highly pathogenic AI virus this year. Previously, on the 2nd, an H5N3 highly pathogenic AI virus was identified in wild bird droppings collected from the downstream of Mangyeong River in Gunsan City, Jeonbuk Province.
The Ministry of Environment plans to designate a 10 km radius around the detection site as a “wild bird monitoring area” and strengthen surveillance. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs conducted movement control, precision examinations, and phone monitoring of poultry within the monitoring area. In a special management zone within 3 km of the Cheongmicheon riverside, measures such as restricting access for people and vehicles to migratory bird habitats were enforced to bolster quarantine efforts.
The authorities also plan to conduct a survey of 150 migratory bird habitats nationwide over three days from the 18th to the 20th. If dead wild birds are found, they should not be touched, and reports should be made to the government complaint center (☎120).
Kim Tae-o, Director of the Nature Conservation Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, stated, “The globally prevalent H5N1 highly pathogenic AI virus was confirmed for the first time this winter season,” and emphasized that they will do their best to minimize domestic damage.