In China, it is known as Chinese New Year or Chunyun; The Spring Festival. In South Korea, it is called Seollal.
But by whatever name, the lunar new year sparks the largest yearly human migration on the planet. This year, China alone expects to see > 9 Billion domestic passenger trips undertaken during the 40 day `travel season'.
Like with the Hajj, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and other mass gathering events, there are always potential epidemiological impacts (see The Lancet: Proactive Surveillance for Avian Influenza H5N1 and Other Priority Pathogens at Mass Gathering Events).
First and foremost, there are concerns over the carriage and spread of infectious diseases by travellers, but there are other, less apparent risks; including the transport of potentially contaminated/infected food products or agricultural diseases via physical contamination.
In addition to seeing a very active HPAI season, South Korea has also reported 4 outbreaks of ASF (African Swine Fever) and one of FMD (Foot & Mouth Disease) in the first month of 2026.
This triple whammy of livestock diseases on the eve of the Spring Travel Season has MAFRA on full alert. Today, they released a lengthy summary of these threats, and an action plan to deal with them.
Due to its length, I've only posted some (translated) excerpts. I'll return with a postscript after the break.The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is taking all-out measures to combat livestock infectious diseases in preparation for the Lunar New Year holiday.2026.02.02 15:50:42 Foot-and-Mouth Disease Prevention Division, Quarantine Policy Bureau
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for Livestock Infectious Diseases ( Director Song Mei-ryeong , Minister of Agriculture , Food and Rural Affairs, hereinafter referred to as the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters ) held a meeting of the Headquarters on Monday, February 2 with the participation of livestock quarantine-related organizations and local governments to review the response to foot-and- mouth disease , African swine fever , and highly pathogenic avian influenza , and comprehensively discuss measures to prevent further spread .
1. Situation
Foot-and-mouth disease was first reported this year on Friday, January 30th at a small farm in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon Metropolitan City. Quarantine measures are being implemented to prevent further spread, including a temporary halt to movement , emergency vaccinations ( January 31st - February 8th ), surveillance , testing, and disinfection. There have been no further outbreaks .* Past occurrences : 19 cases in 2025 ( Yeongam and Muan ), 11 cases in 2023 ( Cheongju and Jeungpyeong ), 3 cases in 2019 ( Anseong and Chungju )African swine fever has occurred sporadically across the country with a total of 4 cases in January this year: Gangneung , Gangwon-do (1.16.), Anseong, Gyeonggi-do (1.23 .), Pocheon , Gyeonggi- do (1.24.), and Yeonggwang, Jeollanam-do (1.26.). As a result, quarantine measures such as movement restrictions and disinfection are being implemented . In addition, an additional case was confirmed (2.1.) at a farm related to the outbreak farm in Yeonggwang, Jeollanam- do ( Gochang , Jeollabuk-do , raising about 17,000 pigs ) , and measures such as culling, surveillance , and inspection are being taken .* Past occurrences : 14 cases in 2019 , 2 cases in 2020 , 5 cases in 2021 , 7 cases in 2022 , 10 cases in 2023 , 11 cases in 2024 , 6 cases in 2025Highly pathogenic avian influenza has occurred in 38 cases in poultry farms so far this winter ( '25 / '26 season ) , and 41 cases have been detected in wild birds ** .* Status of outbreaks at poultry farms ( total of 38 cases ): 9 cases in Gyeonggi , 9 cases in North Chungcheong , 8 cases in South Chungcheong , 3 cases in North Jeolla , 8 cases in South Jeolla , 1 case in GwangjuRecently, the number of cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza detected in wild birds has been increasing * , and the results of a survey on winter migratory bird habitats also showed that the population increased by approximately 8% ** compared to the previous month .
** Status of wild bird detection ( total 41 cases ): 3 cases in Gyeonggi , 3 cases in Gangwon , 1 case in North Chungcheong , 10 cases in South Chungcheong , 6 cases in North Jeolla , 6 cases in South Jeolla , 3 cases in North Gyeongsang , 2 cases in South Gyeongsang , 4 cases in Jeju , 1 case in Seoul , 1 case in Busan , 1 case in Gwangju* Monthly detection status of wild birds (41 cases ): (October ) 2 cases → (November ) 11 cases → (December ) 10 cases → ( January ) 18 casesIn particular , considering the fact that damage was significant in farms and laying hen farms within the quarantine area (10km) in past outbreaks and this winter outbreak, there is a possibility that the outbreak will continue until February , so thorough quarantine management is required until February , the special quarantine period .
** Status of wild bird population ( Ministry of Climate ): (December ) 1.25 million → ( January ) 1.35 million (8% increase )
As the movement of people and vehicles is expected to increase around the Lunar New Year holidays (February 14-18) , there is concern that the risk of outbreaks of livestock infectious diseases will increase , especially in farms where quarantine management such as disinfection and vaccination is inadequate . Therefore , it is necessary to comprehensively inspect the response situation and strengthen on-site quarantine management to prevent additional outbreaks in advance .
(SNIP)
5. Requests
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mei-ryung emphasized , “ Given the grave situation, thorough quarantine is more important than anything else in order to prevent further outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever , and highly pathogenic avian influenza ,” and “ Related ministries and local governments will closely inspect farms for foot-and-mouth disease vaccination , disinfection of livestock vehicles , entry and exit management , and compliance with quarantine rules through special inspections of farms and operation of dedicated officers . They will also be thorough in surveillance and inspection . ”
In addition, “ as an increase in the movement of people and vehicles is expected ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday , livestock farms and livestock officials are requested to thoroughly follow basic quarantine rules such as two- stage disinfection of vehicles entering and exiting , wearing quarantine suits inside livestock sheds, and changing boots . ”
While there are always concerns that the Lunar New Year, the Hajj, Olympics, or some other mass gathering event could help catapult an exotic virus onto the world stage, they are far more likely to exacerbate an existing threat, such as seasonal flu, COVID, or Measles.
Two weeks ago, in Public Health Ontario: Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) For the FIFA World Cup 2026 Games in Toronto, we saw the biggest concerns for this summer's FIFA World Cup were COVID, Measles, and Food and Waterborne diseases.
This month, in addition to the Lunar New Year, there will be at least 4 other major mass gathering events:
- the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, CA,
- the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy
- Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Mardi Gras in New Orleans
