South Korea says soldier not infected with bird flu

SEOUL, May 9 (Reuters) - A South Korean soldier tested for bird flu did not contract the deadly virus and will be released from hospital, according to a statement obtained on Friday.

"The soldier, who was quarantined after showing symptoms of bird flu, has tested negative. We have determined his condition was caused by bacterial pneumonia," the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news release.

The soldier, 21, who was hospitalised last month, had been taking part in the culling of more than 5 million birds as South Korea works to contain its worst outbreak of avian influenza.

Despite government efforts, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread to most parts of the country including Seoul, leading many to steer clear of zoos and the pigeon flocks that roam the capital.

Earlier this week, North Korea said it was stepping up measures to prevent the outbreak from being carried over its borders by migratory flocks.

The last known bird flu outbreak in impoverished North Korea was in 2005. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Lee Jiyeon; editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Valerie Lee)