January 8, 2010

South Korea pushes for FMD prevention

The South Korean government has been urged to take all necessary measures to prevent the spread of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the country.

A spokesperson at the presidential office said the agriculture minister briefed President Lee Myung-bak, who stressed the need for stringent quarantine and decontamination to limit the repercussions of the outbreak.

South Korea confirmed earlier in the day that it detected the first outbreak of FMD in eight years at a dairy farm north of Seoul.

FMD is highly contagious and affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, hogs, deer, goats and sheep. The disease causes blisters on the feet and mouth of livestock and can lead to death in some animals.

The farm ministry said it has banned the movement of animals, started wide-scale decontamination measures and started to cull and bury all animals near the dairy farm.