South Korea has officially documented eight cases of H5N6 bird flu on farms, leading to the culling of over 500,000 poultry, according to a report released on Tuesday by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

The highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks occurred between Dec. 5 and Dec. 11 in villages located in the western part of the country, as stated in the WOAH report, which cited information from South Korean authorities.

The virus resulted in the unfortunate demise of 47 birds, prompting the culling of the remaining flocks totaling 513,810, as reported by the Paris-based WOAH.

Earlier this month, South Korea reported an outbreak of the H5N1 strain, which has been spreading globally, including in japan and Cambodia in Asia. However, until now, South Korea had not reported any outbreaks of H5N6.

The H5N6 strain, identified over the past four years, has been limited to Asia, as indicated by the WOAH database. The most recent outbreak occurred on a poultry farm in the Philippines in January.

Notably, the H5N6 strain has infected a significant number of people in China in recent years, raising concerns among experts. According to Hong Kong's Centre for health Protection (CHP), between 2014 and Dec. 16 of this year, there were 88 reported global cases of avian influenza A(H5N6), with 87 occurring in mainland China. The latest human case was reported on Sept. 27, the CHP said in a report released on Tuesday.