March 9, 2011

South Korean FMD cull rates hit one third of total pig inventory

The recent Foot-and-Mouth (FMD) outbreak in South Korea has resulted in a third of the country's pig herd to be culled, delegates at the fifth APVS Congress were told.

The outbreak was first reported at the end of November 2010, following which the whole country quickly got infected. This latest FMD outbreak was talked about in several keynote presentations at the Asian Pig Veterinary Society (APVS) Congress, held in Pattaya, Thailand.

Sacha Seneque, Merial Australia, gave a speech about FMD and cooperation in the Asian area and said that as of February 21, a total of 3.4 million pigs had to be killed because of the FMD spread. Of this total, 3.25 million are pigs. Before the outbreak, there were about 9.9 million pigs in South Korea but currently, only two thirds remain. Additionally, 151,000 heads of cattle had to be killed, as well as small numbers of deer and goats.

Seneque reminded the Asian pig veterinarians that South Korea had successfully applied a strategy which comprised ring vaccination, among others, during two earlier outbreaks of FMD in 2009 and 2010. However, the present outbreak requires a stronger approach. The latest maps show most of the country's north, middle and south east have been hit hard, with strong repercussions on daily life as prices for milk and pork have increased; water and soil may be contaminated because of buried carcasses; meat consumption is going down; agricultural jobs are lost; and festivals have to be cancelled due to transport restrictions.

Seneque talked about Asian initiatives in the long-term 'SEACFMD' plan, in which a large number of Asian countries cooperate to find a longer-term solution for FMD. Essential to this strategy is the identification of four sources of FMD. These will get priority to get control and will be surrounded by buffer zones. This approach of international collaboration is meant to eventually eliminate FMD from the mainland of South East Asia –like in the Philippines or Indonesia. The four regions named as potential sources of FMD are South Thailand, the heart of Myanmar, the southern tip of Vietnam and a region comprising north-west Vietnam and a part of Laos.