The government says that a case of bird flu detected in North Jeolla Province has been confirmed to be highly pathogenic. It marked the first confirmed case of the highly pathogenic strain of bird flu in the nation this winter. 
 
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Sunday that the avian influenza(AI) detected Saturday from ducks at a poultry farm in Gochang County tested positive for the highly-pathogenic strain of H5N6. 
 
The ministry raised the AI alert to "serious," the highest level, on Monday morning and also ordered a 48-hour ban on the movement of all fowl, poultry farmers and vehicles nationwide which began at 12 a.m.
 
The H5N6 strain is the same type that hit the country from November last year to February this year, resulting in the culling of some 38 million birds.