9th case of African swine fever confirmed in South Korea, India vigilant

Seoul/New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS) South Korea has confirmed its ninth case of African swine fever (ASF) of the year, officials said on Sunday, as India remains vigilant about the outbreak of the disease.

The latest ASF case was found at a pig farm in Hwacheon, some 88 kilometers northeast of Seoul in Gangwon Province. More than 3,500 pigs at the farm will be slaughtered, according to the farm ministry.

The previous case was detected at a local pig farm in late August.

Authorities are investigating the affected farm and have implemented emergency quarantine measures to prevent ASF from spreading to nearby pig farms. Disinfection operations will be conducted at 233 pig farms in Hwacheon, and neighboring cities and counties, the ministry said.

The ministry noted that the culling due to the outbreak at the Hwacheon farm accounts for only 0.03 percent of the country’s total pig population, indicating a minimal impact on the local pork market.

ASF does not affect humans but is deadly to pigs. There is currently no vaccine or cure for the disease.

The government here has ramped up disinfection efforts and inspections. The Central Disaster Management Headquarters convened an emergency meeting to review and implement preventive measures, particularly critical with Chuseok approaching in two weeks.

In India, over 12,200 pigs were killed and over 21,000 pigs culled as the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) continued in Mizoram. Mizoram Animal Husbandry and Veterinary (AHV) Department officials said due to the outbreak of ASF, a large number of farmers across the state incurred huge losses.

AHV Department officials said that though the ratio of pig deaths due to ASF and culling has reduced in the past few weeks, the outbreak of the infectious disease continues unabated in many districts.

The ASF, which, however, does not affect humans, is a highly infectious disease among pigs and poses a severe threat with a very high mortality rate.

Since 2021, the ASF outbreak caused huge losses to the farmers and government farms, the AHV officials said, adding that this year’s first ASF case was reported on February 9 in Leithum village in Champhai district, which shares unfenced borders with Myanmar.

–IANS

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