ASF Cases Reach 941 Nationwide... Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Implements Regional Wild Boar Management Strategies

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] As African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to spread mainly among wild boars in 12 cities and counties nationwide, the government is implementing differentiated management strategies by dividing the country into four regions to prevent further spread.

Kim Hyun-soo, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and head of the ASF Central Accident Response Headquarters, held a briefing at the Government Complex Sejong on the 14th and said, "With ASF-positive cases found outside the wide-area fence, we will divide the country into four regions: existing outbreak areas, core countermeasure areas, newly affected areas, and preemptive prevention areas, and implement differentiated wild boar management strategies."

According to the Central Accident Response Headquarters, a total of 941 cases of wild boar ASF have occurred so far in 12 cities and counties including Hwacheon and Yeoncheon. The breakdown is as follows: Paju 98 cases, Yeoncheon 314 cases, Cheorwon 34 cases, Hwacheon 343 cases, Yanggu 33 cases, Goseong 4 cases, Pocheon 34 cases, Inje 42 cases, Chuncheon 20 cases, Gapyeong 9 cases, Yeongwol 8 cases, and Yangyang 2 cases.

Following this policy announcement, the government will concentrate personnel in the existing outbreak areas north of the wide-area fence and conduct limited firearm capture in 228 villages across 9 cities and counties. In the area north of the Civilian Control Line, 330 capture cages will be installed and joint capture operations involving civilians, government, and military will be promoted. Additionally, 107 search personnel will be deployed to intensively search for and remove wild boar carcasses, with joint searches by government and military planned for the area north of the Civilian Control Line.

In the core countermeasure areas between the existing and new wide-area fences, vulnerable sections such as damaged sections, river bridges, and intersections will be categorized into a database and simultaneously reinforced. To block wild boar access, warning lights and repellents will be installed. The special capture team will be increased from 30 to 60 members, and joint searches by government and military will be conducted in areas adjacent to military bases.

In newly affected areas such as Yeongwol and Yangyang, first and second fences will be installed centered around outbreak points, and a blocking network utilizing highways to the maximum extent possible will be established. Areas near outbreaks will be designated as firearm-restricted zones, with concentrated installation of capture cages and traps (50 already installed in Yeongwol, 30 in Yangyang), and search efforts will be strengthened.

In the remaining preemptive prevention areas, fences will be proactively installed around pig farming dense areas, and wild boar populations will be reduced through large-scale capture operations before the spring birthing season.

Although the spread has been curbed through fence installation, search and capture, and intensive disinfection, ASF cases among wild boars continue to expand, with 8 cases recently reported in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, 62 km away from the existing wide-area fence. For farmed pigs, 14 cases occurred over 23 days starting September 16, 2019, and 2 cases last year on October 2, with no additional cases since then due to quarantine measures.

Minister Kim emphasized, "The Central Accident Response Headquarters and related ministries will actively promote quarantine measures such as fence installation and management, wild boar capture, carcass search and removal, and disinfection of contaminated areas."

Additionally, the government will deploy 196 disinfection vehicles to remove contamination sources, strengthen farm quarantine, and restrict the movement of pigs and manure through regionalization.

Minister Kim also announced plans to strengthen measures against highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) on the same day. He stated, "We will promote a daily nationwide disinfection campaign at poultry farms," adding, "As temperatures have normalized recently, we will conduct intensive disinfection at all poultry farms nationwide between 2 PM and 3 PM daily for two weeks to block the spread of highly pathogenic AI."

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