Jeonnam Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory Conducts Final Inspection to Lift Last AI Quarantine Zone

The Jeollanam-do Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory announced that it will conduct thorough inspections until May 4 to lift movement restrictions in the Muan avian influenza (AI) quarantine zone, the only remaining AI-controlled area in Jeonnam as of the article’s publication date.

The inspection is a procedure to check for any residual virus, carried out 28 days after quarantine measures such as culling and disinfection at the affected farms have been completed.

The Jeollanam-do Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory will conduct detailed inspections on 76 poultry farms, including 56 chicken farms and 20 duck farms, within a 10-kilometer radius of the Muan outbreak site.

Avian influenza sample collection site.
Photo by Jeonnam Province

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Livestock quarantine officers from city and county governments and the laboratory will visit farms to clinically monitor chickens for mortality and collect samples from ducks and empty poultry houses to test for antigens.

The Muan quarantine zone is the last area in Jeonnam under movement restriction for this winter season. If the results of the detailed inspections are clear, both the quarantine zone and all other regions in Jeonnam may have their movement restrictions lifted simultaneously.

Jeong Jiyeong, Director of the Jeollanam-do Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory, stated, "This final inspection is the last step in determining whether avian influenza has been eradicated," and urged, "We ask all poultry farms to actively cooperate with sample collection to ensure the inspection is conducted swiftly and accurately."

During the past winter season, the Jeollanam-do Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory conducted avian influenza inspections at 5,000 locations, confirmed outbreaks at 11 farms in 5 cities and counties, and implemented quarantine measures accordingly.

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