(Bonghwa=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Sun-hyung = On the 7th, the Gyeongbuk Province announced that H5 type avian influenza (AI) antigen was detected at a laying hen farm in Bonghwa County on the 6th. This is the first suspected case of H5 avian influenza in poultry farms in the province this year. If confirmed as highly pathogenic influenza, it will be about a year since the outbreak in Gumi Jongori farm on January 21 last year. A suspected case refers to livestock that have H5 antigen detected, strongly suspected to be infected, but are not yet confirmed by the final national diagnosis. The farm where the outbreak occurred is a farm raising 390,000 laying hens, and a clinical veterinarian discovered dead poultry and reported it to Bonghwa County on the 6th. Upon the report, a livestock quarantine officer from the Gyeongbuk Animal Hygiene Testing Institute conducted clinical examinations and feed sampling, and the detailed examination revealed the detection of H5 antigen. The province has deployed the initial response team of the Livestock Hygiene and Disease Control Support Headquarters to control the entry and exit of people and vehicles at the affected farm, and is implementing quarantine measures including emergency culling. The National Institute of Animal Quarantine and Inspection is currently confirming whether it is highly pathogenic, and the final judgment will take 1-3 days. As of the 6th, there have been 39 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry farms nationwide (8 in Gyeonggi, 1 in Gwangju, 9 in North Chungcheong, 8 in South Jeolla, 9 in South Chungcheong, 4 in North Jeolla), and 43 cases in wild birds (3 in North Gyeongsang, 6 in North Jeolla, 10 in South Chungcheong, 1 in North Chungcheong, 1 in Busan, 1 in Gwangju, 1 in Seoul, 3 in South Gyeongsang, 3 in Gyeonggi, 7 in South Jeolla, 4 in Jeju, 3 in Gangwon). Park Chan-guk, Director of the Gyeongbuk Province Agricultural and Livestock Distribution Bureau, said, "Considering the possibility that the virus has already been introduced into poultry farms, please strictly follow the disinfection and barrier quarantine guidelines."