In a setback to recent signs pointing to a waning bird flu epidemic, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry says it has discovered another case of avian influenza in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.

The Ministry said Sunday that it had confirmed traces of the H5N1 virus at a poultry farm approximately 92 km south of Seoul. The farm had initially been deemed virus-free in an earlier screening, but was discovered to be infected following a more detailed examination.
As a result, a total of 15 poultry and hatchery farms have been confirmed to be infected by the virus since the first case was confirmed on December 15th at a chicken farm in Eumseong county, North Chungcheong Province.

The Ministry said, however, that no further farms are being examined for the virus at the moment.