Reports of suspected cases of bird flu are continuing to emerge one after another in the Chungchong and Jeolla Provinces in the nation's southwestern and central regions.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry said Friday that as of Friday morning, five places have newly reported outbreaks of suspected avian influenza cases, including farms in the South Jeolla Province cities of Naju, Damyang, Young-am and Muan, and in Jin-cheon of North Chungchong Province.

Prior to these reports, a farm in Yicheon, Kyunggi Province and another poultry farm in Asan, South Chungchong province were added to the list of areas infected with bird flu.

Since the first confirmed case of the Hong Kong-strain of avian influenza was reported in Korea, 12 farms have tested positive for the virus, another 12 farms have been found to be negative and 17 other places are currently under inspection.