US delays decision on South Korean FMD status

The US has delayed its decision over whether to add South Korea to a list of countries considered free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) after a new outbreak was reported north of Seoul.

Reports emerged last week of infected cattle at a farm in the city of Pocheon, about 45 kilometres north of Seoul, the first such case in eight years. South Korean quarantine officials promptly culled all of the animals at the farm to keep the disease from spreading.

Following the report, the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service postponed its scheduled amendment of South Korea's disease status with regard to rinderpest and FMD, according to the Washington office of the Korea International Trade Association.

The delay will likely extend a current ban on South Korean beef exports to the US.

FMD, which rarely affects humans, is sometimes fatal for cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs and goats.