A virulent strain of bird flu continues to extend its tendrils across the nation, with the first confirmed case of the disease having been reported in Gyeonggi Province.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Thursday that it had confirmed the case of infection at a hatchery farm in the city of Icheon in the central western province.

Government officials have taken quarantine measures against the disease, following suspicions that the epidemic was responsible for the deaths of some three-thousand chickens at a farm in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province.

The latest chicken deaths have added to Seoul