



By Lee Suh-yoon







The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs confirmed the highly pathogenic H5N6 strain of avian influenza in chickens at three poultry farms in Pyeongtaek and Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, and Asan, South Chungcheong Province, Sunday.







Authorities culled more than a million chickens from these farms over the weekend -- 800,000 chickens in Gyeonggi Province and 450,000 in South Chungcheong Province -- within a three kilometers radius of where the H5 strain was detected in an effort to stop the avian influenza from spreading.







The ministry also issued a 48 hour transport ban on all domestic poultry starting on Saturday. Movement of persons or vehicles will be restricted for a week around the confirmed locations of the H5 strain.







The first farm to be reported for a suspected case of bird flu on Friday was the one in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul. Thirty chickens died there Thursday, followed by 80 more the next day.







The highly pathogenic H5 strain was also confirmed at a poultry farm in Yangju, north of Gyeonggi Province. The farm bought egg-laying chicks from the H5N6 virus-confirmed farm in Pyeongtaek.













