S. Korea Reports 3 New African Swine Fever Cases; Total Now At 14

SEOUL, Feb 13 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- South Korea has confirmed three new cases of African swine fever (ASF) at pig farms in the central and southern areas, quarantine authorities said Friday, bringing the number of cases this year to 14, Yonhap News Agency reported. 

The three new cases were each reported from pig farms in Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province, Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province and Hongseong in South Chungcheong Province, according to the central disaster management headquarters for ASF.

South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the year on Jan 16.

Quarantine officials have been dispatched to the recently affected farms for epidemiological investigation and are planning to cull some 10,000 pigs that were being raised on the farms to prevent further spread of the disease.

They also issued a 48-hour standstill order for pig farms and related facilities in the affected and neighbouring areas.

With the possibility of ASF further spreading during the Lunar New Year holiday next week, quarantine authorities said they will conduct examinations on all of the some 4,800 pig farms across the country by Feb 28.

They also plan to strengthen crackdowns on the distribution of illegally imported livestock products, as epidemiological investigations into previous cases confirmed the possibility that ASF was introduced through unauthorised animal products.

-- BERNAMA-YONHAP