Movement ban extended amid looming concerns over widespread of swine fever
An aerial photo shows workers wearing protective suits and driving pigs to kill at a farm where pigs were confirmed to have been infected with African swine fever in Paju, a city near the inter-Korean border, on Sept. 17, 2019. AFP
South Korea's quarantine authorities on Thursday extended a movement ban on all pig farms, feed factories and other related facilities as multiple suspected cases of African swine fever raise concern over the nationwide spread of the deadly animal disease.
Since the first-ever ASF case in South Korea was confirmed on September 17, there have been five further confirmed instances of the highly contagious disease. A new suspected case was also reported earlier in the day.
The agriculture ministry, which initiated a 48-hour standstill for all pig farms, feed factories and slaughterhouses across the country on Tuesday, said that the order will be extended for another two days.
The virus first struck China in August 2018 and gradually spread to other Asian countries, including Mongolia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The latest suspected case came to light on Ganghwa Island, 60 kilometers northwest of Seoul, according to the ministry.
If it turns out to be positive, it would be the seventh confirmed ASF case in the country in less than 10 days and the third on Ganghwa Island, which lies just south of North Korea.
All ASF have been detected in regions bordering North Korea, such as northern areas of Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.
Authorities are yet to determine what brought the virus into the country.
As they struggle to contain the disease, authorities have been slaughtering pigs within a 3-km radius of the farms infected with the fever, larger than the required 500-meter radius. Accordingly, the number of culled pigs is expected to far exceed 50,000. (Yonhap)