South Korea says it will double its stockpile of the antiviral drug Tamiflu as bird flu spreads among poultry across the country.

The office of President Lee Myung-bak said Saturday the government plans to store enough Tamiflu by the end of this year to treat 2.5 million people. Currently, South Korea has enough Tamiflu only for 1.23 million people. The country’s population is 48 million.

South Korea has reported no human cases of bird flu, but fears about human infection have risen following the first outbreak of the disease in the capital a few days ago.

The viral disease has swept through poultry in South Korea since last month and has forced the slaughter of some 6.8 million birds.