Six more farms reported suspected cases of avian influenza(AI) on Wednesday, amid signs that AI may be spreading in South Korea.
 
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said farms in Gijang County in Busan, and Jeonju and Imsil County in North Jeolla Province reported suspected AI cases late on Wednesday, in addition to three suspected cases in Gunsan and Iksan in North Jeolla reported earlier in the day.
 
As of ten p.m. Wednesday, the AI virus was detected at 21 poultry farms across the country, with ten farms in Jeju, Gunsan, Paju, Gijang, Yangsan and Ulsan testing positive for the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain.
 
To prevent the further spread of bird flu, the government has banned the transfer of live chickens or ducks out of the AI-hit areas.