N. Korea Builds Hospital for Bird Flu Patients

North Korea finished constructing a hospital ward for patients with bird flu and other contagious diseases with financial support from the World Health Organization (WHO), a media report said Sunday.

The WHO had been helping North Korea to build the isolation ward inside a Pyongyang hospital since June, said the Chosun Sinbo, published by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. ,p> In early 2005, North Korea reported an outbreak of avian influenza at several chicken farms in Pyongyang and asked for help from the international community.

``As part of preventive measures against the spread of contagious diseases, this ward was constructed in cooperation with the WHO,’’ the pro-Pyongyang newspaper said.

The report, however, did not give details on when the hospital ward would open officially. According to the newspaper’s earlier reports, the isolation ward in Songsin Hospital will be a single-floor building with eight rooms covering 695 square meters of land.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200701/kt2007010520585511990.htm