DAYS OF THE COMET - AI : NEWSWIRES, MORNING (2685)

[In this post: (1) South Korea. See original texts at the source sites. EDITED.]

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(1a) [AVIAN INFLUENZA, POULTRY, SOUTH KOREA] Gov't to Revise Laws to Fight Bird Flu
Thursday, May 15, 2008 15:34:41

The government will revise laws on livestock slaughtering and processing to create a new quarantine system that can deal better with bird flu outbreaks.

The government reached the decision Thursday through consultation among related ministries and agencies.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also decided to publicize the safety of poultry products and promote consumption of chicken and ducks through TV and radio ads.

The nation has recorded 33 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza this year.

The ministry said one-point-four million birds will be culled and buried after officials confirmed Wednesday that chickens at farms in the southeastern Gyeongsang provinces had the highly- pathogenic H-Five avian influenza virus.

The farms are located in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province and Kyungsan, North Gyeongsang Province.

Reported by KBS WORLD Radio

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(1b) [PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS, VACCINES, SOUTH KOREA] Korea Expected to Produce Bird Flu Vaccine in 3 Years
Thursday, May 15, 2008 16:58:35

Korea is expected to locally produce avian influenza vaccine in about three years to help prevent mass human infection of the bird flu virus.

The Health Ministry said Thursday the government will build a plant in Hwaseon, South Jeolla Province next year that could make enough vaccine for about 20 million patients a year.

The ministry also said it plans to increase its stockpile of anti-viral medicine. It aims to have enough for 10 million people, more than nine times its current holdings.

In addition, the ministry plans to increase the number of quarantined sickbeds from 96 to 400 next year.
Reported by KBS WORLD Radio

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(1c) [PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS, VACCINES, SOUTH KOREA] S. Korea to build bird flu vaccine plant

SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) --

South Korea plans to build a large plant for the production of avian influenza vaccine in a stepped-up effort to prepare for the possibility of the deadly poultry disease spreading to humans, health officials said Thursday.

The plant, to be located in Hwasun, a town about 340 kilometers southwest of Seoul, will produce enough vaccine for around 20 million patients a year, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said in a report to parliament. The construction will be completed by the end of next year, it added.

Other details such as the amount of investment were not available.

The plan comes as South Korea is struggling to contain the deadly poultry disease, which caused the nation to cull around 7 million birds since April 1, when the first outbreak of this year was discovered.

Since the outbreak from the southwestern regions of the country, bird flu seems to be spreading nationwide with cases even confirmed in such cities as Seoul and Busan.

South Korea has recorded 42 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza this year. Experts fear the virus, which is usually spread from birds to humans, could mutate into a form easily transmissible between people, sparking a deadly global pandemic.

According to the World Health Organization, around 240 people have reportedly died from the deadly H5N1 strain worldwide. No human deaths have been reported in South Korea.
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