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 Most of the birds culled were egg-laying hens, sending local egg
prices sharply higher. Among the first consumers to react, bakeries
said they were are cutting down on egg purchases and some families
said they were switching to other foods.
The Agriculture Ministry said on Friday it had ordered the cull of 4
million more birds, which would take to 16 million the total number
killed since mid-November, or almost one-fifth of the poultry
population.
On Thursday, South Korea raised its bird flu alert status to the
highest level for the first time, because of the rapid spread of the
H5N6 virus.
The government has said it has found 54 cases of the virus in
poultry since the first outbreak was reported on Nov. 18.
"It appears to be more highly pathogenic and it is spreading more
quickly than the H5N8 virus that occurred in 2014," Agriculture
Minister Kim Jae-soo told reporters.
About 14 million birds were culled until that outbreak was finally
brought under control in November 2015.
"We have appointed a central emergency measures headquarters to
oversee the situation and reinforce our pan-governmental response
measures," added Kim.
He was flanked by officials who, like him, were wearing the yellow
windbreakers donned during emergencies.
Although cases of human infections from the H5N6 virus have been
previously reported elsewhere, including China, no cases of human
infections have ever been detected in South Korea.
Outbreaks of avian influenza have been reported recently in Japan
and several European nations, including France, which widened "high
risk" restrictions nationwide last week.
Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Macau temporarily closed
a poultry market and halted sales of live birds citywide after a
trader tested positive for its first human case of the H7N9 bird flu
virus, the government said.
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The 58-year-old man has been quarantined in hospital and has yet to
show symptoms. More than 10,000 chickens and pigeons at the Nam Yue
market were culled on Tuesday after the discovery of the virus.
In Seoul, the average retail price for 30 eggs had risen 15 percent
to 6,279 won ($5.31) by Thursday since the outbreak began, the
state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp said, adding that
prices were likely to rise further.
"(Eggs) are too expensive...I make rolled omelet often for my meals,
but I guess I would have to change it to things like fishcake. My
family consumes around two trays per month, but because of the price
I would have to make it one," said 67-year-old Jun Chang-gil, who
was shopping at Lotte Mart in Seoul.
Sim Jae-hak, a baker at the Humming Bella cafe in Seoul, said its
menu was being changed to include more mousse and cheese cake, items
that use fewer eggs.
The agriculture ministry said it would consider a temporary shutdown
of slaughterhouses and animal feed factories if necessary to limit
the spread of the virus.
The ministry had already stepped up quarantine measures, including a
temporary nationwide ban on poultry transport.
(Reporting by Jane Chung and Jeongeun Lee; Editing by Tony Munroe
and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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