Disease

Cholera Found in Travellers from the Philippines

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) issued a warning Friday (computer translated) concerning a cholera outbreak reported in travellers from Cebu, Philippines.

Travellers that arrived Friday, Feb. 17 on Air Asia Z29048 (Cebu – Incheon, Seoul flight) at Incheon International Airport tested positive for cholera (V Cholerae O1 Ogawa, CTX +). The number infected was not disclosed.

Farmers kill thousands of pigs in disease-hit Latvia

Latvia has culled more pigs in the past two weeks than in the last three years, due to African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks. Nearly 15,000 head of pigs were culled as the result of the two recent ASF outbreaks in the country, according to Latvia’s Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS).

On 23 January, SFVS reported an outbreak of ASF at the Rukas farm of local pig manufacturer Ancers, where veterinary inspectors decided to cull the whole pig population of 5,023 head. This outbreak has been identified as the largest one ever in Latvia.

On 7 February, ASF was also detected at the Bunchi farm, which also belongs to Ancers. Here the total pig population was over 10,000 head and SFVS had to destroy the herd completely. Following these outbreaks, the Latvian government has introduced a state of emergency in several districts of the country for the first time since mid-2014.