Quarantine authorities are on alert after confirming a case of African swine fever(ASF) at a pig farm in Gangwon Province.

The Gangwon Veterinary Service Laboratory said on Thursday that it received a report that nine pigs had died over the past two days at a pig farm in the province’s Cheorwon County.

Authorities said it carried out emergency tests and on Wednesday verified traces of the virus fatal to animals, requiring all five-thousand-499 pigs on the farm to be culled in order to prevent the spread of the disease.

Authorities immediately conducted emergency quarantine measures, including disinfecting the farm and issuing a 24-hour movement restriction on all pig farms and slaughterhouses in northern parts of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province starting from 11:30 p.m. Thursday.