African Swine Fever Outbreak in Danyang, Chungbuk

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Ministry of Environment announced on the 19th that African Swine Fever (ASF) was detected in a wild boar carcass found in Daejam-ri, Danseong-myeon, Danyang-gun, Chungbuk. This is the first occurrence of African Swine Fever in Chungbuk.

With this additional case, the total number of cities and counties affected by African Swine Fever has increased to 20. As of the 19th, the total number of cases is 1,708. The location where the carcass was found is about 38 km southwest of Gimsatgat-myeon, Yeongwol-gun, the southernmost point of previous occurrences, and is 200 meters inside the boundary of Woraksan National Park.

The Ministry of Environment, along with related agencies including Chungbuk Province, the Korea National Park Service, military units, and Danyang-gun, is taking emergency measures to prevent the spread to nearby areas and infection of pig farms. First, to identify the spread range, 63 search personnel have been urgently organized to conduct intensive joint searches for two weeks in 24 villages within a 10 km radius. Additionally, temporary facilities such as nets, warning lights, and repellents will be installed around the outbreak site to block wild boar access. To prevent further spread, the use of firearms for capturing wild boars will be temporarily suspended within a 10 km radius around the Danyang outbreak site, and 300 additional capture traps will be installed along wild boar movement routes. The Wildlife Disease Management Institute, Wonju Regional Environmental Office, and National Park Service have been investigating the area around the outbreak since the 18th, when the infection was suspected, to trace transmission routes; however, no additional carcasses have been found so far.

The Ministry of Environment plans to strengthen response efforts by proactively installing barrier fences to prevent African Swine Fever from spreading to Chungbuk and Gyeongbuk regions. To establish a double barrier system in non-affected areas of Chungbuk and Gyeongbuk, two new wide-area fence routes are being installed, and local governments will install secondary fences considering signs of spread, expected spread range, and distribution of nearby pig farms. Furthermore, national parks located in the Baekdudaegan mountain range, such as Woraksan, Sobaeksan, and Songnisan, will form their own response teams to work on blocking the spread of African Swine Fever.

The Ministry of Environment urged, "Please strengthen preparedness even in non-affected areas of African Swine Fever," and advised local residents to immediately report any wild boar carcasses to local governments and to refrain from entering areas where positive cases have been confirmed.

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