S. Korea confirms two more cases of African swine fever at pig farms in Paju
  • 5 years ago
Two more cases of African swine fever have been confirmed in South Korea in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 11.
Humans are safe, but the virus is deadly to pigs.
And with typhoon 'Mitag' approaching, the government has ordered extra steps to stop it from spreading.
Our Choi Jeong-yoon has the details.
Two new cases of African swine fever were confirmed Wednesday by South Korea's Agriculture Ministry.
Pigs at a farm in Paju, close to the inter-Korean border,... tested positive early Wednesday, and a few hours later another case was confirmed in the same area,... bringing the total number of confirmed cases to eleven.
Paju is where the first case was confirmed roughly two weeks ago.
In reponse,... the government's issued a 48-hour ban, through Friday morning, on transporting pigs in Gyeonggi-do Province, Incheon and Gangwon-do Province.
Officials hope that'll prevent the virus from spreading while they try and find out how it got into the country.
Some think it might've crossed the DMZ.
South Korea has culled more than 90-thousand pigs so far, but with this latest case, that number will increase to more than 110-thousand -- or nearly one-percent of all the pigs in the country.
With Typhoon Mitag now on its way, the government has instructed farmers to make sure their pig pens are ready for the storm so the animals don't get out.
It's also going to step up its quarantine measures after the storm passes... because the rain will probably wash away the disinfectants already applied... and the lime they've used to dispose of dead pigs.
Choi Jeong-yoon, Arirang News.
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