President Moon: "Concerns over livestock infectious diseases... Doing our best to prevent spread"

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] President Moon Jae-in on the 14th expressed concern, saying, "Along with avian influenza (AI), wild boars infected with African swine fever (ASF), which had previously been found only in Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Chungbuk regions, have now been repeatedly discovered in the Gyeongbuk region." He urged, "I ask the government, local governments, and farmers to maintain vigilance until the end and do their utmost to block the spread without any gaps in quarantine."

According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination on the same day, President Moon held a regular meeting with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum at the Blue House and, after focusing discussions on responding to livestock infectious diseases such as AI, which have been increasing since the Lunar New Year holiday, made these remarks.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Kim reported, "Since November last year, a total of 43 cases of highly pathogenic AI have been confirmed, with 14 cases occurring since February 1, averaging more than one case per day." He added that the causes appear to be "increased movement of people and vehicles during the Lunar New Year holiday, difficulties in disinfection due to severe cold at the end of January, and an increase in highly pathogenic AI among wild birds."

However, the government judged that compared to the previous year, culling has decreased by 72% (from 15.19 million to 4.24 million birds), and egg prices remain stable.

Prime Minister Kim reported, "With recent rising temperatures and migratory birds beginning to move in February, the spread is expected to stabilize in March," and added, "We will do our utmost to minimize damage through emergency special quarantine measures during the remaining period."

In this regard, Prime Minister Kim plans to visit livestock infectious disease quarantine sites in the Chungcheong region on the 16th to inspect the related response posture.

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