SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is slaughtering thousands of pigs after confirming the presence of African swine flu on a farm near its border with North Korea, where there was an outbreak in May. The first case of the highly contagious disease was confirmed Tuesday in tests to five pigs who died on the farm in the city of Paju, South Korean agriculture minister Kim Hyun-so said.
The ministry said it was studying a possible second case at a hatchery in the neighboring town of Yeoncheon, and that results were expected wednesday morning. HELP US Click the Google News star and follow usThe authorities planned to slaughter about 4,000 animals in the paju farm and two other establishments run by the same family. At the same time, efforts were heightened to disinfect hatcheries and transport vehicles and a 48-hour cessation of activities was ordered in hatcheries, slaughterhouses and food factories to prevent transmission of the disease. There are 6,000 pig hatcheries in the country with 11 million animals. African swine flu has decimated pork herds in China and other Asian countries before reaching Korea. It is harmless to humans, but for pigs it is highly contagious, incurable and lethal.” We will make every effort to prevent the spread of the disease… We believe that the first week (after the outbreak) is the most dangerous,” considering incubation periods,” Kim said at a press conference in Sejong.” We will quickly complete the inspections in the 6,300 hatcheries (across the country)… we’ll examine each pig to see if he has a fever or not and analyze even the mildest symptom,” he said. South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered immediate and severe quarantine measures to prevent the disease from wreaking havoc on the swine industry. The outbreak occurs despite months of surveillance in hatcheries in the border area since the disease spread to North Korea. In May, the North Korean government informed the World Animal Health Organization that 77 of the 99 pigs in a cooperative near the Chinese border died of the disease, and the remaining 22 animals were slaughtered.
