Korea confirms additional FMD case

Korea reported an additional case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the central part of the country Monday, in the midst of nationwide vaccination and quarantine efforts.

The farm ministry said some cattle at a farm in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, about 220 kilometers southeast of Seoul, tested positive for the highly contagious animal disease after animals started showing symptoms over the weekend.

It said under revised quarantine rules that went into effect last week, only animals that showed symptoms are to be culled and buried at the farm that raised 123 cows, while others that have received vaccine shots will be placed under close observation and barred from movement.

No precautionary culling of animals within a 500-meter radius of the cattle farm will take place if animals have been inoculated.

The latest outbreak raises the number of FMD cases officially tallied by the government to 136.

FMD is highly contagious and affects all cloven-hoofed animals, such as cattle, pigs, deer, goats and buffalo. Since the first outbreak was confirmed on Nov. 29, the animal disease has spread almost throughout the country, forcing officials to cull more than 2.5 million livestock.

Starting on Dec. 25, the country began vaccinating all 13 million cattle and pigs in the country after initial quarantine efforts failed to stem the spread of the disease. The agriculture ministry said that despite receiving vaccinations, animals that were already infected with the disease will show symptoms and get sick.

The latest outbreak, meanwhile, is the severest in the country’s history with losses estimated to run as high as 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion). The country was hit by the disease in 2000, 2002 and two more times early last year. 

(Yonhap News)