With less than a week left before the start of the Chuseok holiday, additional cases of avian influenza have been confirmed.
 
The Ministry for Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs held an emergency news conference on Monday, announcing that the avian influenza H5N8 virus has been detected in sample tests of feces from ducks at markets in Damyang in South Jeolla and nearby Gwangju.
 
An official said the ministry is conducting a thorough examination on whether it is highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. The results will be available Monday afternoon.
 
The ministry said it took quarantine measures at the two markets immediately after the detection of the virus, including at the two stores that had provided the sample avian feces.
 
The announcement came three days after ducks at farms in Naju and Gangjin, both in South Jeolla Province, were confirmed to carry HPAI.
 
The ministry said it will take measures to prevent the spread of the virus, including banning the holding of large-sized events or the gathering of a multitude of people in the confirmed regions.