Foot-and-Mouth Disease continues to spread in South Korea

The South Korean Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF) said a pig farm in Boryeong, 170 kilometres South West of the capital Seoul, tested positive for Foot-and-Mouth Disease, along with a cattle farm in Chuncheon, East of Seoul.

The outbreak in Boryeong marks the third time that the central province has reported an outbreak after the first case was confirmed there over the New Year weekend.

 

Quarantine authorities said all 72 heads of cattle and about 23,000 pigs have been ordered to be killed with other livestock within a 500-metre radius of both farms ordered culled and buried as a precautionary measure.

 

The latest FMD outbreak that began late in November has spread through five provinces and Incheon city, the country’s second-largest seaport. 

 

There have been 79 confirmed cases. In addition, there may have been several other outbreaks that have not been officially counted because the animals were culled before the test results came in.

 

The Korean government has ordered the culling of over 662,000 animals so far with 452,000 livestock, mostly cattle, slated to receive vaccines.

 

The country was hit by the disease in 2000, 2002 and two more times early in 2010.

 

• South Korean Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF)

• Korea Times