Poultry farms and quarantine authorities are on alert as winter migratory birds are flying into the country from China and Inner Mongolia where outbreaks of a deadly strain of bird flu were reported in September.
 
The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency said Monday that it had attached satellite tracking devices to three mallard ducks earlier this year in South Chungcheong and Gyeonggi Provinces. The agency confirmed that the three birds had recently returned to South Korea after spending summer in China and Inner Mongolia.
 
The agency asked bird watchers and fishermen to use extra caution in personal hygiene and when in contact with the droppings of migratory birds. It also urged poultry farms to enhance quarantine efforts, such as disinfection.