March 17, 2011

South Korea sends 330,000 soldiers to battle FMD

The South Korean military has gathered some 330,000 troops and thousand pieces of quarantine equipment to stop the spread of FMD in the country, officials said Wednesday (Mar 16).

The outbreak of the animal disease recently showed signs of abating after the nation culled a record 3.4 million pigs, cattle and goats since the first outbreak was confirmed last November.

A total of 332,298 soldiers and 3,904 pieces of military equipment have been mobilised so far to help the nationwide efforts to stop the spread of the disease, the defence ministry said.

"The military will continue to actively support the government's efforts to contain the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease if needed," said a ministry official.