Anchor: The bird flu scare that has gripped the nation is showing no signs of abating. Official damage figures from the current outbreak are soon expected to surpass that of the AI nightmare in 2014. Quarantine officials have or are scheduled to cull 20 million ducks and chickens by Tuesday.
As our Bae Joo-yon sums up the latest outbreak, what is alarming is the emergence of a new AI strain.
 
Report: The first reports of the current avian influenza(AI) outbreak came in mid-November from poultry farms in the North Chungcheong and South Jeolla provinces.
 
After spreading to other farms in the region, the disease then reached South Chungcheong Province in just over a week. 

Now the bird flu has manifested nationwide. 
 
A month after the first confirmed case, the government on Friday marked up its AI alert level to the highest.
 
Local governments have taken steps to temporarily close down wintering sites of migratory birds and zoos.

But there are no signs of abating. Over 20 million ducks and chickens have already been or will be destroyed by Tuesday. On Monday, eight endangered mandarin ducks at Seoul Grand Park were culled.

The bakery and food industries are being hit hard by a surge in egg prices. Some supermarket chains have even begun to limit sales to one carton of 30 eggs per person due to a limited supply.

Amid the spread of the H5N6 virus, health authorities are concerned as a new strain of the H5N8 has been detected. Never have two strains of the AI virus emerged at the same time.
 
Chungbuk National University Prof. Mo In-pil heads the Korean Society of Poultry Science.
 
[Sound bite: Prof. Mo In-pil - Chungbuk National University / head, Korean Society of Poultry Science (Korean)]
“H5N8 shows slightly weaker clinical symptoms than H5N6. That’s why people tend to miss detecting the H5N8 virus when farms are infected.”

The government has come under criticism for failing to promptly handle the situation. Health authorities say they are fully mobilizing quarantine personnel to contain a further spread.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.