South Korean officials cull 1,500 pigs after ASF outbreak
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports that new cases of African swine fever have been detected on a farm this week.
9 October 2020
3 minute read
By: Reuters reports that the newest African swine fever outbreak is the first identified in over a year. Authorities were forced to cull at least 1,500 pigs to curb the spread of the virus.
Three dead pigs tested positive for the disease, which does not affect humans but can be deadly to pigs, at a farm in the province of Gangwon late on Thursday 8 October
Authorities culled pigs within a 10-kilometre (6 mile) radius of the farm, Yonhap said, citing the agriculture ministry.
About 400,000 pigs were culled after an outbreak began late last year, hitting at least 14 farms.
Until this week, Yonhap said, no new cases had been found on farms since October 2019, but 750 cases were discovered in wild boars that roam the border with North Korea.
In September, South Korea banned pork imports from Germany after a case of African swine fever was confirmed in a wild boar in its east.
