South Korea reported its first cases of African swine fever, becoming the latest country hit by the disease that has killed pigs from China to North Korea, pushing up pork prices worldwide. Five pigs found dead at a farm in Paju, a city near the inter-Korean border, were confirmed to have been infected with the virus, an official with Seoul's agriculture ministry told AFP.
Around 4,000 pigs will be culled and the disease alert level has been raised to the maximum.
Recall that the first cases of ASF infection were recorded in China. Four months ago, North Korea reported an outbreak of the disease to the World Organization for Animal Health. ASF is not dangerous for humans, but this disease is deadly for animals. ASF vaccine does not yet exist, and the only way to prevent the spread of the disease is the pigs culling.
Based on abs-cbn.com.
