Bird Flu Outbreak in North Korea
Contained
ROME, Italy, April 25, 2005 (ENS) - An outbreak of
avian influenza in North Korea has been contained,
the United Nations said today, assuring the world and
at the same time urging the country to continue
surveillance on the affected farms and elsewhere to
ensure that no residual infection remains.
An H7 strain of the bird flu virus had been detected
recently on three poultry farms near the capital
Pyongyang, said the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO). Although this virus caused
severe disease in thousands of chickens, it is not
directly related to the H5N1 avian influenza virus
circulating in other parts of Asia.
"The virus appears to have been eliminated from the
three infected farms by combining culling of around
218,000 infected chickens, vaccination of unaffected
birds in unaffected poultry houses and strict
biosecurity measures," said FAO consultant Les Sims,
who travelled to Pyongyang to advise the North
Korean veterinary authorities on bird flu control.
North Korea has acted promptly and appropriately
and has provided essential information in a timely
manner, Sims said, and the official declaration to the
World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) was done
in due time.
Chickens are susceptible to the 15 strains of avian
influenza that are known to exist.
The FAO sent three experts to the country to assist
national authorities in diagnosis and disease
management. This was done through the East Asian
Regional Network on Avian Influenza set up by the
FAO.
The government of North Korea formally appealed to
the international community for help to fight avian
influenza at an international conference in Paris
earlier this month, according to the World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the FAO.
Some 300 key veterinary experts and scientists met
to discuss the current scientific information on bird
flu and to address different aspects of disease
surveillance and control strategies at the conference
jointly organized by OIE/FAO, in collaboration with
the World Health Organization.
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