No Special Cases of African Swine Fever in Gyeonggi and Gangwon Regions

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for African Swine Fever announced on the 17th that no abnormalities such as suspected African Swine Fever cases were found following telephone inspections of 1,245 pig farms in the Gyeonggi and Gangwon regions. During the telephone inspections, focused promotion of biosecurity measures to be observed at pig farms (three items daily) was also conducted.

Additionally, the headquarters announced that from the 16th, a '2nd round of detailed and clinical inspections' will be conducted over approximately two weeks on 397 pig farms in border areas. Clinical inspections (week 1) and detailed inspections (week 2) will be carried out on pig farms until the 26th, and among these, 182 farms located within the wild boar quarantine zone (within a 10 km radius of positive wild boar detection sites) and farms epidemiologically linked to outbreak farms will undergo detailed inspections twice.

On the 16th, samples were collected from 51 farms subject to detailed inspections out of the 397 target farms, and all 33 farms for which tests have been completed were confirmed negative. The headquarters, together with local governments and the Korean Pork Producers Association, is conducting daily inspections of disinfection status inside and outside 395 pig farms in northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces and 14 adjacent cities and counties.

In particular, due to the frequent entry of outsiders, disinfection work in sow barns, which have a high risk of infection and transmission, is strictly guided to require the wearing of sow barn-specific protective clothing. Farms conduct thorough disinfection and then take photos, which are submitted to the Korean Pork Producers Association and local governments as part of the inspection process.

On the 16th, the headquarters deployed 499 search personnel (338 from the Ministry of Environment search team and 161 military personnel) and 96 disinfection personnel to 11 cities and counties in northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon to conduct carcass searches and disinfect wild boar habitats, respectively.

Furthermore, 171 fence site managers composed of local residents have been assigned to manage sections of the wild boar movement blocking fences, checking the status of gate closures and damaged sections as part of ongoing management.

Especially, inspections before sunset have been strengthened to maintain fence closure during the nighttime when wild boars are most active, and automatic-closing gates are being installed at key points critical to preventing the spread of African Swine Fever.

Kim Hyun-soo, head of the central headquarters, urged at the African Swine Fever quarantine situation meeting, "Local governments, as well as the Korean Pork Producers Association and integrated business operators, should thoroughly guide and manage biosecurity at member farms and contract farms." Regarding highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI), he emphasized, "Meticulous management is needed for duck farms and holding facilities," and requested, "Please prohibit the sharing of rice hull spreaders among poultry farms."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.