Cabbage cure for bird flu?

Scientists at Seoul National University say that they fed an extract of kimchi to 13 infected chickens, discovering signs of clear recovery in 11 of them just a week later. The scientists, led by Professor Kang Sa-ouk of the University's Biological Sciences unit, admitted that it was hard to prove the results, and that the source of the chickens' improvement was far from clear.

Nonetheless, further tests will be carried out to see if a scientific link between the spicy dish and the disease can be found.

Professor Kang's team had already shown that lactic acid bacteria found in kimchi, and called .Leuconostoc Kimchii​ has an anti-bacterial effect, but the latest research suggested that they also had an positive effect on viral diseases such as bird flu.

Even though there is little scientific evidence to support the observations of the Korean scientists, they have nonetheless begun distributing the Kimchii culture fluid to poultry farms across the country with the permission of the National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service after conducting further studies.

South Korean poultry processors are on a state of high alert after reports of a massive outbreak of the disease in North Korea last month which led to the deaths of thousands of birds.

According to Reuters​ the outbreak occurred at a farm in Pyongyang, and coincided with the first shipment of meat products between the North and South Korean nations in more than 50 years following a new bilateral agreement. Not surprisingly, the authorities in Seoul called for the exports to be immediately suspended.

While there is still no conformation from the Communist North Korea that the outbreak even occurred, authorities in the South have reacted swiftly to prepare themselves for the worst. Some reports even suggested that while the North Korean authorities had buried the dead chickens, some residents had dug up the poultry to sell.

All the North Korean state media had to say was that the authorities were doing everything to prevent bird flu from infiltrating the country.

With such rumours abounding, it is perhaps not surprising that the results of Kang's research have prompted South Koreans to eat more kimchi, made by fermenting cabbage with red peppers, radishes, garlic and ginger. Growing concerns that the flu could pass not only from birds to humans but also for the first time from humans to humans have simply fuelled the fears even more.

A similar rise in kimchi consumption was seen during the SARS outbreak of 2003, even though there was again no proven link between the dish and an ability to fight off the respiratory syndrome.