The government has made the assumption that the bird flu, which is showing signs of fast spreading in the country, is not contagious to human beings.

In an emergency meeting on the outbreak of the avian influenza Sunday, Prime Minister Goh Kun said that no cases of infection were found after epidemiology tests were conducted on some four-hundred-80 people that had been exposed to the virus within the flu-hit regions.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Sunday that two duck farms were confirmed hit by the virus, bringing to five the total number of poultry farms that have been struck by the virus.

The two farms are located between three and a half and four kilometers from the chicken farm where the first outbreak was confirmed Monday in Umseong, 130 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

More alarmingly, new suspected cases were reported at three duck farms in Cheonan City.

Quarantine officials have set up checkpoints to prevent access to the site and designated as a