African Swine Fever Outbreak... Hwacheon-gun Makes All-Out Effort to Contain Spread

Positive Test on the Evening of the 13th... Vehicle Movement Halted and Intensive Disinfection Implemented
Choi Moon-soon, Hwacheon County Governor, "Mobilizing All Quarantine Resources to Prevent Further Spread"

Hwacheon County, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Choi Moon-soon) announced on the 14th that the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for African Swine Fever (ASF) confirmed a positive ASF case on the night of the 13th after a detailed examination of a suspected case reported at a pig farm in Sanae-myeon, Hwacheon County.

Last night (the 13th), at a meeting held at Hwacheon County Office to discuss the response to suspected ASF reports from pig farms, County Governor Choi Moon-soon instructed the relevant departments to respond thoroughly.

To prevent transmission between farms, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters issued a temporary movement suspension order until 8 p.m. on the 15th for livestock facility workers and vehicles in Hwacheon County and five adjacent cities/counties (Chuncheon City, Cheorwon County, Yanggu County, Pocheon City in Gyeonggi Province, and Gapyeong County). Intensive inspections and disinfection were conducted on the 14th at five pig farms within a 10 km radius of the affected farm, and movement restrictions were imposed.

This confirmed case is the second this year following Cheorwon County in May and the third case in the Hwacheon area after 2020 and 2023.

Hwacheon County immediately reported the pig mortality case to the Gangwon Province Animal Quarantine Department on the morning of the 13th and set up a movement control checkpoint at noon on the same day. Subsequently, Gangwon Province deployed an initial response team to the affected farm.

Before the test results were released, Hwacheon County convened an emergency countermeasure meeting chaired by Governor Choi Moon-soon at 6 p.m. on the 13th. On the 14th, Hwacheon County urgently dispatched essential quarantine personnel to the site and carried out emergency culling of 3,504 pigs raised at the affected farm. A Hwacheon County official stated, “We are making every effort to implement post-culling containment measures, including burial operations immediately after culling.”

Governor Choi Moon-soon of Hwacheon County stated, “We are mobilizing all quarantine resources to prevent further spread of African Swine Fever.”