March 9, 2007

North Korea reports foot-and-mouth-disease outbreak; culls cows and pigs

North Korea has reported an outbreak of foot and mouth disease and culled hundreds of cattle to prevent the virus from spreading, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.

The outbreak occurred in January at a farm in the capital, Pyongyang, sickening 431 cows, according to a North Korean government report dated Wednesday that was posted on the Web site of the Paris-based animal health agency, known by the initials OIE.

Since the outbreak, quarantine officials have killed a total 466 cows, including the sickened ones, as well as 2,630 pigs in efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, the North's Agricultural Ministry said in its report. Some 100,000 animals within the 70-kilometer radius of the outbreak site will be vaccinated, it added.

The sickened cows were imported from Tieling, a city in China's Liaoning province, the report said.

The last outbreak of foot and mouth occurred in 1960, it said.

The disease is not known to be a threat to humans, but it is highly contagious among other mammals. The disease affects cows, sheep, goats and other cloven-footed animals, causing blisters on the mouth and feet.