Following the 'Minjok Daedong', Livestock Infectious Diseases May Spread... Government Steps Up to Establish Quarantine Measures

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 22nd that it is implementing a "Livestock Infectious Disease Prevention Plan" to prepare for the occurrence of livestock infectious diseases such as African Swine Fever during the Chuseok holiday period. In particular, considering that African Swine Fever occurred at domestic pig farms immediately after the Chuseok holiday last year, the ministry plans to strengthen quarantine management.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is operating a Livestock Infectious Disease Prevention Situation Room in cooperation with local governments nationwide and related organizations and groups to maintain a 24-hour emergency contact system. In case of suspected reports of livestock infectious diseases, initial response teams from each agency have been pre-organized to enable immediate on-site action. The related initial response teams include the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Quarantine Headquarters' mobile quarantine units, the Quarantine Headquarters epidemiological investigation team, local government sample collection teams, and the Quarantine Support Headquarters initial response team.

On the 18th, a nationwide simultaneous Livestock Environment Disinfection Day was held, mobilizing all available disinfection vehicles including local government-owned disinfection vehicles, Nonghyup joint pest control team vehicles, and military decontamination vehicles to conduct simultaneous disinfection of livestock farms, livestock-related facilities, and livestock vehicles nationwide. The disinfection targets include 203,000 farms, 5,700 facilities, 61,000 vehicles, and 1,500 vulnerable sites such as migratory bird habitats, totaling 270,000 locations.

Additionally, through daily duty personnel, the emergency contact network is checked, and the promotional achievements and disinfection and quarantine promotion results of each agency are inspected to ensure that quarantine activities are not neglected during the holiday period.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated that considering African Swine Fever outbreaks occurred at pig farms in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces immediately after the Chuseok holidays in 2019 and 2020, it is doing its best to manage quarantine during the Chuseok holiday period. On the 23rd, another nationwide simultaneous Livestock Environment Disinfection Day will be held to encourage thorough disinfection inside and outside farms, livestock facilities, and livestock vehicles at livestock farms and related facilities nationwide.