Published : Feb. 8, 2021 - 10:27
Cartons of eggs imported from the United States are displayed at a supermarket in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)
South Korea said Monday it is currently investigating yet another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu, with the country's total confirmed infections staying unchanged at 87.
The latest suspected case of the deadly H5N8 strain of avian influenza was reported from an egg farm in Pocheon, 46 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The test result is expected to come out within three days. The farm was raising 160,000 chickens.
Since late November, the country has so far reported 87 cases of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to poultry farms.
As of Monday, those confirmed from wild birds also reached 163.
South Korea has destroyed 26 million poultry around infected farms so far to prevent the spread of the disease.
The move has led to a sharp increase in the consumer price of eggs, which shot up 43.8 percent on-year over the past week.
South Korea identified a whopping 340 cases of avian influenza traced to poultry farms during the previous wave, which ran from October 2016 to February 2017. (Yonhap)