The South Korean government stepped up measures to prevent the spread of fatal bird flu disease Thursday after suspected bird flu cases were reported in its southern province of Jeollabukdo.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and other related government departments, including the Health Ministry, will conduct joint actions in the area where the suspected bird flu disease was discovered, said government officials.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the suspected bird flu cases were found at a poultry farm in Iksan city, Jeollabukdo, where 6,000 out of a total of 13,000 chicken have died suddenly since Sunday.

The government will cull and bury all remaining chickens in the farm and carry out quarantine measures in the area 10-km radius around the farm. All eggs will also be destroyed, while two hatcheries that have received eggs from the farm have been closed, the South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said.

At a briefing earlier on the day, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said the suspected virus is very likely to be highly effective to human beings. The sample of the virus was sent to state labs for further tests.

The final result of the tests will be released on Saturday, the ministry said.

The latest outbreak of bird flu in South Korea was reported in December 2003. The South Korean government destroyed 5.3 million birds from December 2003 to March 2004 to curb the spread of the fatal epidemic disease.

Source: Xinhua