Seven confirmed cases of African swine fever in S. Korea as of Thurs.: Agriculture Ministry
- 5 years ago
We start with the latest on the outbreak in South Korea of African swine fever.
It continues to spread in the northern parts of the country near the DMZ.
It's not harmful to humans, but it's fatal to pigs, and another case was confirmed today, bringing the total to seven.
Our Kim Jae-hee joins us now from Seongmodo Island on the west coast, near the site of the latest confirmed case.
So Jae-hee, what's the latest?
Hi, Devin. I'm near the farm in Seongmodo Island in Ganghwa County where the seventh case of the African swine fever was confirmed earlier today.
Now this farm had been previously shut down, and had only two pigs when the infection was confirmed,... which raises questions about how the disease found its way here.
Inspections are underway right now for at least three other suspected cases.
The top priority is of course to stop the disease from spreading. It's highly contagious among pigs and could potentially put a big dent in pork supplies. What measures are in place at the moment?
A nationwide standstill on all pig farms, feed factories and slaughterhouses was supposed to be lifted as of 12PM today, but has been extended for another 48 hours.
The entire province of Gyeonggi-do is now under quarantine... as is the city of Incheon and Gangwon-do Province.
The authorities are also currently inspecting pig farms and livestock-related facilities in 154 cities and counties... as they prepare to disinfect them.
Since the first case was confirmed last week, the total number of pigs that will have to be put down has now reached nearly 60-thousand.
Incheon also said it will cull all pigs within 3 kilometers of the farms confirmed of the fever,... which is one-fifth of all the pigs in Incheon.
Gyeonggi-do is also planning to implement six key countermeasures, such as installing more quarantine control posts and requesting cooperation from local military units.
The Blue House has also launched a task force to get the latest information on the fever from agencies and come up with swift response measures.
It's not clear how the disease entered South Korea, but North Korea reported its own outbreak back in May, so authorities are inspecting inter-Korean waterways.
That's all I have at the moment, Back to you, Devin.
It continues to spread in the northern parts of the country near the DMZ.
It's not harmful to humans, but it's fatal to pigs, and another case was confirmed today, bringing the total to seven.
Our Kim Jae-hee joins us now from Seongmodo Island on the west coast, near the site of the latest confirmed case.
So Jae-hee, what's the latest?
Hi, Devin. I'm near the farm in Seongmodo Island in Ganghwa County where the seventh case of the African swine fever was confirmed earlier today.
Now this farm had been previously shut down, and had only two pigs when the infection was confirmed,... which raises questions about how the disease found its way here.
Inspections are underway right now for at least three other suspected cases.
The top priority is of course to stop the disease from spreading. It's highly contagious among pigs and could potentially put a big dent in pork supplies. What measures are in place at the moment?
A nationwide standstill on all pig farms, feed factories and slaughterhouses was supposed to be lifted as of 12PM today, but has been extended for another 48 hours.
The entire province of Gyeonggi-do is now under quarantine... as is the city of Incheon and Gangwon-do Province.
The authorities are also currently inspecting pig farms and livestock-related facilities in 154 cities and counties... as they prepare to disinfect them.
Since the first case was confirmed last week, the total number of pigs that will have to be put down has now reached nearly 60-thousand.
Incheon also said it will cull all pigs within 3 kilometers of the farms confirmed of the fever,... which is one-fifth of all the pigs in Incheon.
Gyeonggi-do is also planning to implement six key countermeasures, such as installing more quarantine control posts and requesting cooperation from local military units.
The Blue House has also launched a task force to get the latest information on the fever from agencies and come up with swift response measures.
It's not clear how the disease entered South Korea, but North Korea reported its own outbreak back in May, so authorities are inspecting inter-Korean waterways.
That's all I have at the moment, Back to you, Devin.