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Apparent outbreak of African Swine Fever in North Korea
[DAILYNK] African Swine Fever (ASF) is on the rise in China and other areas in Asia recently, and the disease has now spread to  North Korea, according to multiple sources inside the country.ASF began to spread in the Hyungjaesan District, Sungho District and other areas on the outskirts of Pyongyang from mid-February and has led to the deaths of many pigs that had been raised by families. When ASF began to spread, North Korean authorities prohibited the distribution and sale of pork from late February and there are still prohibitions on the sale of pork at markets and raising pigs. North Koreans, however, are still selling pork at markets despite these restrictions. "People are selling the pigs in the markets regardless of the what the authorities say," a a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK April 23. "There are a lot of people who are buying the meat of pigs that died of the disease and butchered pigs as well." A North Pyongan Province-based source told the Daily NK that ASF struck pigs in Kusong starting in February. "The disease isn’t as bad as it was before...but the authorities are cracking down on the sale of pork at markets where it has spread," he said. There are rumors among North Koreans that ASF is spread through the air. "People think that the disease is spread through the air," said a separate Pyongyang-based source, while an additional North Pyongan Province-based source told the Daily NK that "there are rumors that wild boars are also infected so people think that ASF started with the wild boars and spread through the air." The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) stated in its Early Warning Early Action Report on Food Security and Agriculture released on April 15 that North Korea is a high-risk country due to ASF. Posted by: Fred 2019-04-29 |
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