March 28, 2011
 

North Korea requires vaccine and equipment to contain FMD

 

 

Approximately US$1 million of equipment and vaccines are needed urgently to help curb outbreaks of the lethal Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD) in North Korea, followed by a long term and concerted effort to improve veterinary services in the country.

 

A joint FAO and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) mission travelled to North Korea at the government's request between February 27 and March 8. The mission found that the country's capacity and that of veterinary services to detect and contain FMD outbreaks need significant strengthening, in particular with regards to implementing best-practices in biosecurity measures and improving laboratory infrastructure and capacity.

 

Cattle in North Korea were being checked for signs of FMD. Outbreaks of Type-O FMD have been reported in diverse locations in eight of North Korea's 13 provinces.

 

In order to control the situation, the team recommended the following steps; North Korea needs to locate and map disease clusters, protect unaffected farms through movement controls and biosecurity measures, have adequate sampling in order to identify the virus strain or strains involved correctly and improve biosecurity measures to prevent further spread of the disease.

 

The strategic use of the appropriate vaccines to contain and isolate disease clusters is required immediately for training, supplies and infrastructure, vaccine acquisition and the setting up of monitoring, reporting and response systems and it will cost around US$1 million.

 

The FAO-OIE mission visited several collective farms as well as the national veterinary laboratory and various animal health field stations.

 

FAO and OIE provided guidance to North Korean veterinary authorities on taking and handling of FMD samples whereby new samples will be collected by North Korea and sent to an international reference laboratory for testing.

 

It will only be possible to identify the most effective vaccine after accurately typing the virus or viruses involved in the outbreaks.

 

FMD does not pose a direct health threat to humans, but affected animals will be too weak to plough the soil or reap harvests, suffer significant weight loss, and produce less milk.

 

Farm animals are crucial to food security in North Korea. Cows and oxen are primarily used for dairy production and are a key source of draft power in agricultural production. Goats and pigs, which are also susceptible to FMD, are an important source of dairy products and meat.

 

Current North Korea's livestock population consists of 577,000 head of cattle, 2.2 million pigs and 3.5 million goats.