"Winter Does Not Guarantee Safety from African Swine Fever"…Strengthening Wild Boar Capture to Prevent Spread

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Announces Comprehensive ASF Prevention Measures
Recent Increase in Cases with Shorter Intervals
Focused Inspections in Northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon Regions

As African Swine Fever (ASF) has occurred about 230 times this year alone, showing a spreading trend, the government has decided to strengthen the search and capture of wild boars, focusing on areas at risk such as northern Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province to prevent its spread. Considering that occurrences are increasing not only in spring and autumn but also in winter, the level of quarantine management will be enhanced throughout the year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 29th that it will implement a comprehensive ASF quarantine plan containing these measures.

Since ASF occurred at a pig farm in Paju in September 2019, a total of 33 cases have been reported to date. Until now, outbreaks mainly occurred in spring and autumn when wild boar and human/material movements increase, but from January to March this year, five cases occurred in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, and Yangyang, Gangwon Province. Wild boar cases started in Yeoncheon in October 2019 and have totaled 2,982 so far. Especially, 229 cases occurred by March this year alone, making it a year-round concern.

An Yong-deok, Director of the Quarantine Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, explained, "Unlike in the past, considering the year-round risk of ASF occurrence, the southward and westward movement of wild boars, and overseas outbreak trends such as in China, it is necessary to strengthen quarantine management levels. We have prepared measures to minimize ASF outbreak risks, block quarantine in risk areas and vulnerable farms, manage wild boars, and strengthen border quarantine."

First, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs decided to prepare and implement detailed quarantine management measures for each risk period throughout the year, as ASF can occur year-round. In spring (April-May) and autumn (September-November), when farming activities and mountain visitors increase and wild boar populations surge, inspections and disinfection will be intensified at vulnerable farms such as pig farming complexes to block contamination sources from entering farms. Along with promoting refraining from mountain entry and farm visits, searches and captures will be strengthened during the wild boar birthing season (March-May) and mating season (November-January) in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment. Wild boars give birth to an average of 4-5 piglets at a time, up to 10, so their population increases from summer. In summer (July-August), quarantine management plans will be established and prepared in advance for each disaster stage (before, during, after) to prevent contamination caused by monsoons and typhoons. In winter (January-March), quarantine rules such as preventing freezing of disinfection equipment will be promoted and inspected in preparation for cold waves.

Particularly, areas at risk such as northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon will be intensively managed. These risk areas will be jointly inspected with the Quarantine Headquarters and local governments, and continuous surveillance will be expanded in northern Gyeonggi, Gangwon, pig farming complexes, and corporate farms. Additional disinfection vehicles will be deployed to focus on disinfecting farms and surrounding roads.

Wild boar searches and captures, which were conducted nationwide, will be strengthened focusing on northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon to block the spread. To block southward movement to Okcheon, Gimcheon, Yeongdeok, Uljin, Andong, and westward movement to Yangpyeong, Yeoju, Eumseong, and Goesan, searches by the Ministry of Environment and capture by local government damage prevention teams will be conducted simultaneously. In nine border cities and counties in northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon such as Gimpo, Paju, Pocheon, and Cheorwon, specialized search teams and detection dogs from the Ministry of Environment will be deployed, and capture equipment such as thermal imaging devices and detection dogs, as well as personnel, will be supported to local governments.

To block the domestic inflow of ASF from neighboring countries such as China and Vietnam, quarantine will be strengthened on all flight routes from ASF-affected countries. Travelers will be guided not to bring in illegal livestock products when booking and issuing boarding passes, and upon entry, travelers’ luggage will be intensively inspected using X-rays and quarantine detection dogs.

Director An urged, "Early detection and rapid response are crucial to prevent the spread of livestock infectious diseases, so farmers should report immediately to livestock quarantine agencies if suspicious symptoms are observed. Pig farmers should maintain quarantine and disinfection facilities, thoroughly follow quarantine rules such as disinfecting farms and barns and changing boots."

(Photo) [Image source=Yonhap News]

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