19,009
Like many other countries, this fall South Korea has been hit particularly hard by this fall's return of avian flu, and over the past 30 days we've seen 3 major declarations from MAFRA and local authorities regarding their response.South Korea: MAFRA Reports Increased Infectivity & Pathogenicity of This Year's Avian Flu Strains
South Korean City (Naju) Orders Extraordinary Emergency Measures Due to HPAI
South Korea: MAFRA Identifies Biosecurity Breaches On HPAI Infected Poultry Farms
While South Korea has dealt with avian flu off and on for 2 decades - including the disastrous arrival of H5N8 in early 2014 - this year they have been unusually wary; with their CDC holding a 19-day Nationwide, Mock-Training Exercise to Prepare for Zoonotic Influenza in early September.
Six weeks ago, South Korea's MAFRA Ordered Strengthened Quarantine Measures After 3 HPAI H5 Subtypes (H5N1, H5N6, H5N9) Detected In Wild Birds, and last month they announced a 10-fold increase in infectivity of this year's returning virus.
While we've seen strong responses by South Korea to HPAI outbreaks in the past, today MAFRA has announced unusually stringent nationwide quarantine and biosecurity measures; even for them.
First, the translated announcement, after which I'll have a brief postscript on a curious aspect to today's announcement.Few countries have been as open about their concerns over - and their response to - HPAI, and so other governments, agencies, and poultry producers may want to take note.
(Translation)
Special quarantine measures implemented for one month in January to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza.2026.01.05 15:38:20 Avian Influenza Prevention and Control Division
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza ( Chief: Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mei - ling , hereinafter referred to as the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters ) announced that as the risk of additional outbreaks has increased due to the recent increase in the occurrence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI), it will hold a quarantine countermeasures meeting chaired by Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mei- ling on Monday , January 5 to review the situation of highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks and quarantine measures and further strengthen quarantine management .
1. Situation
This winter ('25/'26 season ) , there have been 30 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry farms and 22 cases in wild birds .
* Poultry farm outbreak status ( 30 cases in total ): Gyeonggi 9 cases ( Anseong 3, Paju 1, Hwaseong 2, Pyeongtaek 3), Chungbuk 7 cases ( Goesan 1, Yeongdong 1, Jeungpyeong 1, Jincheon 2, Eumseong 2), Chungnam 5 cases ( Boryeong 1, Cheonan 3, Asan 1), Jeollabuk-do 2 cases ( Gochang 1, Namwon 1), Jeollanam-do 6 cases ( Naju 4, Yeongam 2), Gwangju Metropolitan City 1 case
** Status of wild bird detection ( total 23 cases ): Gyeonggi 1, Chungbuk 1, Chungnam 6, Jeonbuk 4, Jeonnam 4, Gyeongbuk 3, Gyeongnam 1, Busan 1, Gwangju 1, Seoul 1
This winter season, for the first time in Korea , three types of viruses ( serotypes : H5N1, H5N6, H5N9) were detected in wild birds and poultry farms , and in particular, the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus ( serotype H5N1) confirmed in Korea this winter season was confirmed to be more than 10 times more infectious than in previous years, making the situation very serious with a higher risk of additional outbreaks than ever before .
As seen in the past when the most cases occurred in December and January , the number of cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been increasing since December during this winter season as well , and the cases are particularly concentrated in the Gyeonggi , Chungcheong , and Jeolla regions where chicken and duck are raised. In order to minimize damage, all poultry farms and related personnel must be on alert and implement more thorough quarantine management than before, such as entry control and disinfection .* Monthly occurrence : (September ) 1 case → (October ) 1 case → (November ) 4 cases → (December ) 22 cases → ( January '26 ) 2 cases2. Special quarantine measures
* Occurrence by region : 9 cases in Gyeonggi , 12 cases in South and North Chungcheong , 8 cases in South and North Jeolla , 1 case in Gwangju Metropolitan City
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will strengthen quarantine measures as follows to prevent and control highly pathogenic avian influenza .First , as a special measure to prevent further outbreaks of laying hens, dedicated officers will be assigned to laying hens nationwide (539 farms with over 50,000 hens ) for two weeks from January 5 to January 16 to control the entry of livestock vehicles into the farms and conduct intensive inspections for any violations of quarantine regulations.* ① Register the number and company of pre-risk livestock vehicles ( eggs , feed , manure ) , control the entry of other vehicles , ② On-site inspection when registered vehicles enter and exit , ③ Instruct and inform drivers of registered vehicles and related companies on quarantine rulesSecond , the Avian Influenza Special Quarantine Team and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs field response team ( section chief level, etc. ) will be dispatched simultaneously to three risk areas and 11 regions where there is concern about additional outbreaks to conduct quarantine management, including special inspections .* 3 special quarantine areas : Gyeonggi ( Hwaseong , Pyeongtaek , Anseong ) , South Chungcheong ( Cheonan , Asan ) , North Chungcheong ( Eumseong , Jincheon )Third , to eliminate sources of contamination inside and outside poultry farms , livestock facilities, and vehicles, the period until January 14, 2026 will be designated as a “ National Intensive Disinfection Week ,” and roads around migratory bird arrival areas and nearby poultry farms will be disinfected at least twice a day .
* Field response team 11 risk areas : Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek and Anseong , Chungcheongnam-do Cheonan , Chungcheongbuk - do Eumseong , Jincheon and Cheongju , Sejong , Jeollabuk -do Buan and Gimje , Jeollanam -do Yeongam and Naju
Fourth , to strengthen disinfection and prevent transmission through vehicles, we will strengthen management by conducting surprise environmental inspections on high-risk livestock vehicles ( egg and feed transport , manure disposal ) entering and exiting poultry farms nationwide from January 5 to January 16 .* Collect samples from disinfection facilities (222 locations , 1,100 cases ) and conduct detailed tests.
Fifth , we plan to conduct a comprehensive quarantine strengthening campaign in January in cooperation with producer groups . Poultry farms will be divided into three color-coded quarantine zones , and staff will change into colored boots for each zone and conduct intensive disinfection and rat catching operations .
* Promotion of changing boots when moving from the farm yard - polluted area ( red boots ) ↔ inside the anteroom - buffer area ( yellow boots ) ↔ inside the barn - clean area ( blue boots ) in laying hen farms
Sixth, in order to raise awareness and encourage autonomous quarantine in poultry farms, a special inspection and publicity week ('25.12. 31~'26.1. 13) will be designated for poultry farms nationwide, where daily inspections and guidance and education on key quarantine rules will be intensively provided , and quarantine rules will be delivered to farms within the jurisdiction every week through communication channels of city /county ( director in charge ) .
In addition, we will provide guidance and education on quarantine rules tailored to the language of each country for foreign workers working on poultry farms , and further strengthen publicity through the broadcast of disaster warnings to the public.
4. Requests
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mei-ryeong said , “ This winter, three types of viruses (H5N1, H5N6, H5N9) have been detected in wild birds and poultry farms , and the infectivity of the viruses has been confirmed to be more than 10 times higher than in the past. Therefore, all poultry farm workers and quarantine officials should further strengthen quarantine measures such as controlling the entry and exit of people and vehicles and disinfection, and do their best by mobilizing all available human and material resources . ”
In addition , “ Local governments in Gyeonggi , Chungcheong , and Jeolla regions, where there have been many recent outbreaks , should actively utilize the 1:1 poultry farm manager system through the local disaster response headquarters, which includes quarantine and disaster departments, to prevent the spread to surrounding areas , and intensively inspect quarantine area management and whether poultry farms are following quarantine rules . ”
In addition , he emphasized, “January is the month with the most avian influenza cases following December, so poultry farms should thoroughly follow basic quarantine rules such as controlling the entry of people and vehicles and disinfecting inside and outside the farm with the mindset of protecting their own farm, ” and requested , “ In particular , as there have been many cases in laying hen farms this season , to prevent further outbreaks , disinfection and access control for vehicles transporting eggs and feed, which are major risk factors for transmission , should be doubled or tripled . ”
Aside from ramping up their agency response to 11, there is another glaring change in this latest announcement. Previous statements have focused heavily on farm biosecurity lapses, and repeatedly warned of increased fines and other penalties for future violations.
Curiously, today's announcement has zero mention of fines or penalties.
While I'm sure that blatant disregard for biosecurity is still punishable, it is possible (and yes, I'm speculating) that this may be a tacit admission from MAFRA that even high-compliance farms are vulnerable to this year's crop of highly infectious avian flu viruses.
If that should prove to be the case, then South Korea - and potentially many other countries - could be facing a particularly difficult second half to this year's avian flu season.
Stay tuned.
