By Lee Kyung-min
Quarantine authorities in Busan have moved 640 containers from where Korea’s first infestation of more than 1,000 red fire ants was confirmed late last month.
The containers were moved to a nearby area as part of efforts to inspect and sterilize ports in the southern city to prevent further spread of the species native to South America, known to inflict painful bites that in some cases lead to anaphylactic shock and death.
The ants are 2 to 6 millimeters in size, and are coppery-brown.
The Busan Port Authority and officials from Gamman Port said Sunday extermination efforts would continue because the “queen ant” _ which lays up to 1,500 eggs a day _ has yet to be located and confirmed as exterminated.
The authorities are considering burning soil and concrete plowed from beneath where the containers were unloaded. Only containers that underwent complete and full sterilization were allowed to leave the port.
The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency said it would continue to inspect 163 traps and sterilize quays in the area.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it would continue to inspect 2,358 monitoring traps installed last Wednesday at 34 seaports, including those in Masan in South Gyeongsang Province, Sokcho in Gangwon Province and Incheon.
A team of 20 officials from the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, the Ministry of Environment, the Korea Forest Service and outside experts will conduct an on-site inspection at Gamman Port today.
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Kim Young-choon visited the port Saturday, recommending inspections and extermination efforts continue for up to two years.
Agriculture Minister Kim Yung-rok visited Incheon Port last Thursday.
The discovery of the ants comes amid a growing number of infestations at airports and ports in recent years.
According to data submitted to Rep. Wi Seong-gon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea from the agency, nearly 70,000 such cases have been reported over the past seven years.
The numbers are rising. Between 7,000 and 9,000 infestations were reported between 2010 and 2014. But 12,075 cases were reported in 2015 followed by 13,529 cases last year.
The ants have been found recently in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, several Caribbean countries, China and Japan.
Three months earlier, three fire ant infestations were reported in Japan at Nagoya Port and in Kobe. According to the Japan Times, the venomous ants were first discovered in a container that arrived at Kobe Port in May.
Bites to U.S. residents cost the economy there an estimated 3.4 billion pounds (5.2 trillion won, or $4.5 billion) a year, says Takahiro Murakami, an associate professor of behavioral biology at Kyushu University, according to The Telegraph.
Anyone who sees suspected fire ants should never touch them, but report the discovery to 054-912-0612.