Gyeonggi and North Jeolla provinces are on high alert following reports of avian influenza(AI) infections in wild birds in the region.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on Tuesday that fecal samples from wild birds captured in those areas tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of AI.

It has designated the Chungmi Stream in Yongin and Dongjin River in Buan as special quarantine areas and raised the level of quarantine measures there to contain the spread.

This past weekend, authorities reported an H6N8 influenza case at a local poultry farm in North Jeolla Province, the first for the country in 32 months.