South Korea steps up vigilance as African swine fever returns
A farm in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea reported a case of African swine fever on the 6th. This is the first time this animal disease with a high mortality rate has been discovered in South Korea after about two months, and the departments of local government have taken measures to strengthen their supervision.
Gyeonggi province government officials said the farm where the African swine fever case occurred was in Pocheon, about 46 kilometers from the capital Seoul. This is the first case of African swine fever in Pocheon and the government plans to cull around 8,000 pigs raised on the farm.
According to local government estimates, 101,000 pigs are being farmed within a 10km radius of the affected farms. Government departments have issued a 24-hour transport ban on pig farms in 10 regions in northern Gyeonggi province.
South Korea last reported a case of ASF in November last year. At that time, more than 5,000 pigs were culled in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do.
African swine fever is an acute, hemorrhagic, and severe infectious disease caused by African swine fever virus infection in pigs, characterized by high fever, severe internal organ hemorrhage, and high mortality. African swine fever is not a zoonotic disease and related viruses do not infect humans, but food or shoes, tools, vehicles and other items contaminated with the virus can contribute to the spread of the virus. This virus can survive for a long time in low temperature conditions, and currently there is no animal vaccine or specific drug that can prevent it.
