On 27 March, state media in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea officially reported the country’s first outbreak of avian influenza in poultry. To date, outbreaks involving large numbers of poultry have been reported at commercial poultry farms, including one in Pyongyang Province. Mass culling has been undertaken by the authorities in an effort to prevent further spread.

No human cases have been reported to date.

Government officials have assured WHO that all measures are being undertaken to prevent transmission to humans and to detect human cases, should they occur.

The WHO country office in Pyongyang has offered direct assistance to the Ministry of Public Health in strengthening surveillance and diagnostic capacity for the detection of possible human cases. WHO has offered to send oseltamivir, an antiviral drug that can be used prophylactically, to reduce the risk of human infection and disease, as well as therapeutically.

The WHO country office has further offered to supply personal protective equipment for poultry cullers.

WHO is this week despatching test kits to support laboratory diagnosis of H5-subtype avian influenza in humans. Further assistance has been offered in the form of training of local staff in laboratory diagnosis and surveillance.

In monitoring the outbreak, WHO staff in Pyongyang are working closely with the FAO local and regional offices, which are also offering specialized expertise.