S.Korea ramps up disinfection to protect against North's outbreak of African swine fever (updated)

Woosung

31/05/2019 09:07

* African swine fever found at farm in N.Korea - S.Korea  
    * S.Korea aims to prevent spread of virus across border
    * Shares of South Korean vaccine makers, feed makers rise

 (Adds comments of analyst, FAO official; paragraphs 12-15)
    By Jane Chung
    SEOUL, May 31 (Reuters) - South Korea will boost
disinfection measures to prevent an outbreak of African swine
fever from spreading to its pig herd, after the disease was
found in North Korea, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.
    There is no vaccine for the highly contagious disease fatal
to pigs, but which does not affect humans. It spread rapidly
across China after being detected there last August, and has
also been reported in Vietnam.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2330ZD  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1VF1X8
    The North's outbreak was confirmed on Saturday at a farm in
its province of Jagang near the border with China, South Korea's
agriculture ministry said in a statement, with more than 20 hogs
culled and more than 70 dead from the virus.
    "There is a possibility that the virus could spread to the
South and we plan to carry out extra disinfection measures," Oh
Soon-min, the ministry's director general, told a news briefing
after a government meeting on ways to block the virus.
    Measures will include stepping up disinfection in areas near
the shared border, the ministry said.
    South Korea's unification ministry said it would make use of
a liaison office with its reclusive neighbour to work out
detailed protection measures with the North.   
    Pork, cheaper than beef, is a popular meat in South Korea,
which had about 11.2 million pigs in the first quarter, data
from Statistics Korea shows. 
    North Korea has not confirmed the swine fever outbreak, but
the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Friday carried three
articles on the risks posed by the virus and its rapid spread.  
 
    However, South Korea's agriculture ministry said its
neighbour had reported the outbreak to the Paris-based World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on Thursday, and took steps
to control its spread, including disinfection.
       
    LACK OF PREVENTION CAPABILITY
    The North's outbreak comes as it grapples with food
shortages, when four in ten citizens are going hungry after the
worst harvest in a decade, the United Nations said this month.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N22F5FX
    "The food and nutrition insecurity situation in North Korea
is worrying and the African swine fever outbreak puts additional
pressure on the availability of proteins of animal origin," said
Vincent Martin, an official of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture
Organization in China and North Korea.
    The North's pork consumption has increased recently as 
leader Kim Jong Un pushed to increase meat supply, said Kwon
Tae-jin of the GSnJ Institute, an expert on its agriculture.
    "It will mainly affect the elite because not every North
Korean can easily eat pork or other types of meat," he said,
referring to the virus outbreak.
    "The biggest concern is lack of sanitary and prevention
capability." 
    North Korea raises mainly chicken, ducks and rabbits, but
its pig population in 2017 rose 8.9% on the year to 2.6 million,
according to Statistics Korea. 
    South Korean pork producers worry that wild boars near the
border could carry in the virus, hitting pig farms. 
    "Prevention is the best way to counter the virus," said Oh
Yu-hwan, an official of the Korea Pork Producers' Association.
    "The government should step up controlling wild boars,
otherwise it could threaten the foundation of the industry." 
    The government plans to build more fences to protect farm
animals from wild boars and relax rules on hunting them, the
ministry said.
    However, the average retail price of pork belly changed
little in South Korea, standing at 1,857 won ($1.56) per 100
gram (0.22 lb) on May 30 from 1,854 won a year earlier, data
from state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp shows.    
    Shares of South Korean animal medicine suppliers, Eagle
Veterinary Technology  044960.KQ  and Cheil Bio  052670.KQ 
rallied as much as 23% and 16%, respectively, while those of
animal feed maker Woosung Feed  006980.KS  jumped more than 12%.
($1=1,191.3000 won)

 (Reporting by Jane Chung; additional reporting by Hayoung Choi
and Hyonhee Shin in SEOUL and Dominique Patton in BEIJING;
Editing by Richard Pullin and Clarence Fernandez)
 ((jane.chung@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5667; Reuters
Messaging: jane.chung.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))