The South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs declared Tuesday that it would be launching a five-month-long special disinfection period in October to February to implement stronger antivirus measures against animal diseases.
The number of bird flu cases among migratory birds had risen 14.7 percent year-on-year to 3,364 cases in the first eight months of the year. Thus, the government will be increasing testing of the AI virus at main habitats throughout the country, and designating 24 high-risk regions and some 700 farms to be subject to more thorough disinfection work.
Private organizations will be recruited to conduct in-depth, expeditious inspections to detect the avian influenza in its early stages. The government will also be focusing on preventing the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). In May, the country had confirmed the first FMD case in over four years and reported at least 10 additional cases at local farms in the following weeks.
The government will be extending the vaccination campaign and antibody tests, while strengthening quarantine measures in local farms and related facilities. In response to the continuous spread of African Swine Fever, the ministry vowed to persistently carry out operations to hunt down wild boars and search for affected animals, while constructing more fences to block their migration.