'Highly Pathogenic AI Outbreak' in Sangju-si, Gyeongbuk: 550,000 Chickens and Quails Culled Over Two Days

Poultry Culled Within 3km Radius of Outbreak Farm

At a farm in Sangju City, quarantine workers are conducting culling operations on poultry on the 3rd.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] In Sangju, Gyeongbuk, where highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI, H5N8 type) occurred, mass culling of poultry is continuing on the 4th following the 3rd.

According to Sangju City, quarantine authorities are conducting preventive culling on 187,000 chickens at a layer farm in Gongsung-myeon where highly pathogenic AI occurred, as well as 372,563 poultry at four farms within a 3 km radius. Among the total 559,563 birds, 439,281 are chickens and 120,282 are quails.

On the 3rd, 348 people (220 from contracted companies and 128 Sangju city officials) were involved in the culling operation, and on the 4th, 208 contracted company workers and 114 officials (reserve personnel) were deployed. The culling operation is expected to be completed late on the 4th.

Sangju City had previously preemptively culled 510 chickens from 32 small-scale farms within 3.5 km of the affected farm. Although the target area is within 3 km, the range was expanded to prevent further spread.

Mayor Kang Young-seok visiting the site of the highly pathogenic AI outbreak to encourage the culling workers.

Sangju City explained that tests using rapid kits on poultry from eight farms within 10 km of the affected farm all returned negative results.

Sangju City is providing quicklime to poultry farms within 10 km of the affected farm to ensure thorough disinfection at each farm, and has set up movement control checkpoints in three locations: Gongsung-myeon, where the affected farm is located, and nearby Nakdong-myeon and Oenam-myeon, operating them until the situation is resolved.

On the 3rd, Mayor Kang Young-seok visited the site to encourage the culling workers and quarantine officials, urging them to do their best to prevent additional AI outbreaks.

Meanwhile, in Sangju, after the AI H5 antigen was confirmed positive at a layer farm in Gongsung-myeon on the night of the 1st, it was finally confirmed as highly pathogenic AI H5N8 at 11:35 a.m. on the 2nd.