Photo Credit - Naju City
#18,998
South Korea - which has battled outbreaks of HPAI, ASF, and FMD for years - has long been proactive when it comes to dealing with agricultural threats; often quarantining farms, issuing `stop movement' orders for livestock, and setting up elaborate vehicle disinfection stations.
In mid-2024, South Korea released an updated comprehensive pandemic plan, while last September their CDC conducted A 19-day, Nationwide, Mock-Training Exercise to Prepare for Zoonotic Influenza.
A little over 2 weeks ago we looked at another scathing report from MAFRA on biosecurity breaches on infected poultry farms, and the issuance of increased heavy fines for non-compliance.
But overnight, Naju City (pop. 116K) in South Jeolla Province, raised the ante during an emergency meeting - following their 2nd outbreak of HPAI in 3 days - where they have ordered the cancellation of all outdoor activities for the holidays due to the rising avian flu threat.It is fair to say that South Korea takes these threats seriously.
While we saw similar actions taken during the COVID pandemic, and briefly during the 2015 multi-hospital outbreak of MERS-CoV, I can't recall seeing anything of this magnitude ordered by South Korean officials for avian flu in the past.
That said, I've not seen anything to suggest human cases in the region. They are, however, calling for local organizations and social groups to cancel or postpone outdoor events, so their concerns obviously go far beyond the farm.
Speculating a bit:
- The western peninsula (where South Jeolla (Jeollanam-do) is located) accounts for 2/3rds of South Korea's poultry production, which may explain their concerns and this unusual response.
- And it is always possible that the city is using this as an opportunity to test their new pandemic plans (or to show the national authorities how committed they are).
But any way you slice it, the following (translated) press release (note: highlights & emphasis mine) from Naju City is a remarkably robust response, given what we know now..
Date of registration: December 24, 2025, 3:26 PM
Views : 9 Livestock Division , Registration Department
Outdoor events during the year-end and New Year's holidays have been canceled... Emergency measures including quarantine and movement restrictions have been strengthened.
Naju City, the largest duck breeding area in the country, is taking the crisis caused by the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza seriously, considering the special circumstances of the region, and is mobilizing all administrative power to prevent the spread, including canceling year-end and New Year's events, restricting movement, and strengthening the operation of disinfection facilities.
Naju City (Mayor Yoon Byeong-tae) announced on the 24th that it has issued an emergency appeal to citizens and livestock farmers, asking them to thoroughly participate in quarantine measures and refrain from movement due to the recent consecutive outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza at two duck farms in Bonghwang-myeon and Donggang-myeon.
In the appeal, the city emphasized, "The current situation is more serious than ever before for the safety of citizens and the protection of the local livestock industry, and a strong response is needed. We ask for the active cooperation of poultry farms as well as nearby residents with quarantine measures."
Naju, which has maintained a livestock infectious disease-free zone for the past two years, has raised its quarantine response level to 'serious' after highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed at a duck farm in Donggang-myeon on the 23rd, following a case at a duck farm in Bonghwang-myeon on December 19th.
Accordingly, Naju City held an emergency meeting presided over by Mayor Yoon Byeong-tae on the 24th and canceled all unspecified large-group gatherings during the year-end and New Year's holidays, including the Geumseongsan Sunrise Event on January 1st of next year, to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. In accordance with the Livestock Infectious Disease Prevention Act, the city also recommended that local organizations and social groups cancel or postpone outdoor events.
In addition, the city is making all-out efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, including disinfecting public facilities such as senior citizen centers in towns, townships, and wards, controlling access to poultry farms and restricting vehicle movement, disinfecting livestock vehicles and personnel at key disinfection facilities, refraining from moving between farms and areas adjacent to migratory birds, and prohibiting entry into migratory bird habitats.
On December 20th, immediately after the antigen was detected, the city held an emergency situation response meeting chaired by the mayor and immediately decided on response measures such as controlling the outbreak farm, temporarily halting movement, conducting thorough inspections and intensive disinfection of poultry within the quarantine zone, and strengthening the operation of key disinfection facilities.
Mayor Yoon Byung-tae visited the Dongsu-dong key disinfection facility on the 23rd to inspect the quarantine response status and the operation of the facility, and closely checked whether on-site quarantine measures were being implemented.
The city is currently continuing thorough surveillance and intensive disinfection within a 10km radius of the outbreak farm and is continuing preemptive quarantine measures such as strengthening the disinfection of livestock vehicles to block horizontal transmission.
Mayor Yoon Byung-tae of Naju said, “Compared to chickens, ducks tend to show symptoms later and milder, so careful surveillance and thorough disinfection on farms are of utmost importance. Please thoroughly check basic quarantine rules once again, such as changing boots when entering and exiting livestock sheds and checking the expiration date of disinfectants.”
In particular, “This year, the arrival period of migratory birds has been earlier than usual, the number of birds has increased significantly, and we believe that the infectivity of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has increased by more than 10 times and the risk of outbreak has increased by up to 20 times,” he said. “Since the initial response to highly pathogenic avian influenza determines the success or failure of quarantine, there should not be any gaps in quarantine centered on disinfection facilities,” he emphasized, “We will do our best to protect the safety of citizens and livestock farms by mobilizing all administrative power to prevent further outbreaks.”
Naju City plans to make all-out efforts to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza through thorough quarantine management centered on the field and continuous inspections.
(Photo caption)
1. Naju Mayor Yoon Byeong-tae (second from the right) visited the Dongsu-dong disinfection facility and inspected the quarantine response status and operational status.
2. Naju City is operating a disinfection facility to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI).
3. Naju City is operating a central disinfection facility to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI).
(Photo provided by Naju City)
While this response is likely due to an abundance of caution, given its unusual nature, it is worth keeping our eye on the region in the days ahead.
Stay tuned.
