S. Korea confirms dog infected with avian flu

SEOUL - South Korea's agriculture ministry on Monday confirmed a dog at a duck farm has been infected with avian influenza.

The bird flu virus was found in a dog among three dogs at a duck farm in southeastern South Korea where the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of virus was confirmed on Jan 23, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said at a briefing.

There have been no antigens nor antibodies found in two other dogs, reflecting no dog-to-dog transmission of the virus, the ministry said.

The three dogs, which the ministry estimated may have had infected ducks, were culled.

Since the first case of a dog being infected with the poultry virus in March 2014, there have been 55 dogs found with antibodies to the bird flu virus. The antibody means the immune system of the dogs eliminated the virus.

More than 1.8 million ducks and chicken have been culled since the latest outbreak of the bird flu was reported in September 2014.