Gimcheon City Swiftly Completes Culling of 2,722 Pigs Amid African Swine Fever Outbreak

Farm Access Restricted
Initial Quarantine Team Deployed
Emergency Disinfection and Movement Control Measures Implemented
In Cooperation with Relevant Agencies

Gimcheon City in North Gyeongsang Province announced that, following the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) at a pig farm in Guseong-myeon within the city on February 12, it implemented emergency quarantine measures and swiftly completed the culling of all 2,722 pigs that had been raised at the farm prior to the outbreak.

The city stated that, immediately upon receiving the suspected-case report, it restricted access to the farm, deployed an initial quarantine team, and carried out emergency disinfection and movement control measures, and that, in cooperation with relevant agencies, it completed the culling on February 13.

In particular, in preparation for increased visits and movement of people returning home during the Lunar New Year holiday period, the city is operating a "Special Quarantine Measures for the Lunar New Year Holiday" program. It has designated the area within a 500-meter radius of the affected farm as a focused control zone, and, within the protection zone (3 km) and surveillance zone (10 km), it is restricting the movement of pig farms and conducting thorough testing. At the same time, it has significantly reinforced measures to prevent additional spread and to block transmission, including 24-hour operation of movement control checkpoints, continuous operation of base disinfection facilities, intensive disinfection of livestock transport vehicles, and simultaneous disinfection of all pig farms within the jurisdiction.

The city stated, "We are maintaining an emergency duty system to ensure that no gaps in quarantine occur during the Lunar New Year holiday. We ask livestock farmers to strictly control the entry of outsiders, and we also ask returning visitors to refrain from visiting livestock farms."

Meanwhile, ASF is a Type 1 livestock infectious disease that infects only pigs and is not transmitted to humans. Pork distributed on the market is shipped only after passing slaughter inspections and hygiene inspections conducted in accordance with the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, and only products whose safety has been verified are released.