The wild bird influenza (AI) virus was detected in Iljuk-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, and authorities confirmed the pathogenicity.

The Ministry of Environment says the H5 type AI virus was detected after analyzing fecal samples from wild algae collected 22 days ago.

H5 type is a genotype virus that is highly pathogenic.

Accordingly, the National Institute of Environmental Research is conducting 'forecasting activities' to predict how the situation fluctuates while examining the occurrence of pathogens, density and surrounding crop conditions in the surrounding areas where samples are collected.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock Quarantine Headquarters, Disease Control Division, and local governments notified relevant AI virus detection cases for prompt response.

The virus is classified as highly pathogenic because it kills more than 80% of chickens in 1-2 days when infected.

In contrast, low pathogenicity has virtually no serious impact.

"It will take three to five days to determine the pathogenicity of the virus we detected," said the director of the National Institute of Environmental Sciences.

The last time a highly pathogenic AI virus was identified in Korea was in Asan, Chungnam, in February 2017, Chung said.