South Korea is killing chickens by the dozen. The country has now culled over 6 percent of poultry in order to curb a bird flu outbreak that has impacted farms and migratory birds nationwide, according to Fox News.
The South Korean bird flu, also known as H5N8, is actually different from the strain that caused human deaths elsewhere in Asia, according to Reuters. Even so, the flu can rapidly spread through bird populations and, because of the flu's ability to mutate, officials aren't taking any chances.
Currently, South Korea has slaughtered an astonishing 10.16 million birds in order to help cull the spread of bird flu, according to Reuters. That number is very close to the record 10.2 million birds that were culled during an outbreak in 2008. So far, South Korea has had a total of four bird flu outbreaks in the past 10 years; fortunately, though, no cases of human infection have been reported, according to Fox News.
At the end of January, a similar bird flu outbreak occurred in Hong Kong. In fact, China culled about 20,000 chickens in an effort to curtail the spread of the strain H7N9, which had killed two people at the time of the culling. The strain was first reported in Shanghai in February 2013.
Needless to say, this latest cull has quite the impact on the economy. Sales of chicken in one of Seoul's largest markets dropped by more than half on average last month during the latest outbreak, according to Fox News. About 28 poultry farms across the nation have been hit by the disease.
Perhaps more important is the fact that this disease has the potential to infect migratory birds. Because these birds travel long distances, it's crucial to curb the outbreak early in order to keep it from spreading. South Korea has been stepping up disinfection measures for these migratory birds at around 37 sites across the country, according to Fox News.
