The South Korean government said Sunday that the country is a bird flu "clean zone" after three months without a confirmed case of the bird flu virus, Xinhua reported. "Under OIE (the World Organization for Animal Health) rules, we can declare South Korea 'clean' three months after the last quarantine measures have been implemented," said Kim Chang-seob, the chief veterinary officer of South Korea's Agriculture Ministry. South Korea technically became a bird flu free country as of Friday, Kim added. The declaration is in accordance with guidelines set by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and follows detailed tests conducted on 1,829 poultry farms throughout the country in May and June, the ministry said. Following the declaration, South Korea will seek talks with Japan and other countries to resume poultry exports, Kim said. This year's outbreak of bird flu was the most serious in the country's history. Since the first outbreak was reported on April 1, 8.46 million birds had been culled.
