The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Friday (June 20) that the United Nations had praised Korea's strong efforts to fight avian influenza.



Dr. David Nabarro, the UN's Senior Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, said during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on June 17 that the world is better prepared to respond to an influenza pandemic, pointing to some countries' efforts to combat bird flu.



In his global pandemic assessment, the UN influenza coordinator praised Korea and the United Kingdom for how quickly they brought recent H5N1 outbreaks under control, and credited Australia and the United States with conducting pandemic exercises aimed at testing the resiliency of their financial sectors.



Korea's Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has conducted not only standard operating procedures but also additional quarantine measures such as quarantine actions in traditional poultry markets, culling all chickens and ducks in poultry farms in order to prevent the transmission and further outbreak of bird flu.



Such additional efforts have helped Korea shorten the H5N1 outbreak control period, according to the ministry. In 2008, 33 cases were reported in Korea nationwide from April 1 to May 12. Korea plans to lift quarantine measures and exit bans on June 29.





By Yoon Sojung

Korea.net Staff writer