South Korea has confirmed a second outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus at a duck farm, a week after reporting its first case in more than 13 months.

Workers are culling thousands of ducks at the Jeongeup farm in the south-west of the country, the Farm Ministry said.

They are also investigating two nearby farms where birds had died over the weekend.

The area is less than 30km (19 miles) from a poultry farm in Gimje which reported an outbreak of H5N1 last week.

About 270,000 chickens at five farms there - the affected one and four others nearby - were slaughtered.

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo called for "thorough steps" to prevent the virus spreading to other areas.

The movement of poultry within affected areas has been restricted.

Prior to the recent outbreak, South Korea's last case of H5N1 was in March 2007.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed more than 230 people since it emerged in South East Asia in late 2003.

Scientists fear it could trigger a pandemic if it mutated into a form that was easily passed between humans.

(BBC)

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