December 23, 2010

 

Foot-and-mouth disease in South Korea spreads east

 

 

South Korea's foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak has spread to mountainous Gangwon Province for the first time despite nationwide quarantine efforts, the government said.

 

The farm ministry said a cattle farm in Pyeongchang, 182 kilometres east of Seoul, and pig and cow farms in Yeoncheon and Pocheon, north of the capital, were all affected by the highly contagious animal disease.

 

"All animals at the farms along with those within a 500-metre radius of the latest confirmed cases are to be culled to prevent further spread of the disease," the ministry said. The animals at the farm were under observation after they showed symptoms like loss of appetite, excessive drooling and blisters on their noses and hooves.

 

The outbreak in Pyeongchang, a popular ski resort, marks the first time that the disease has hit the region, and a clear sign of FMD spreading from Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, to Gyeonggi, around the capital city, to the northeastern part of the country.

 

Since the first outbreak was confirmed on November 29, the country reported 41 cases of the disease with around 224,000 livestock having been culled or slated to be destroyed.

 

The highly contagious disease affects all cloven-hoofed animals and is classified as a "List A" disease by the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health. The disease, however, does not affect humans and animals seldom die from the disease.

 

The ministry, meanwhile, said a suspected case at a deer farm in Cheonan, 88km south of Seoul, tested negative for the disease.

 

South Korea, which reported its first FMD case in 2000, was hit again in 2002 and two more times earlier this year. In 2000, the government used vaccines to stem the outbreak, although it has opted not to resort to drugs in the years thereafter.

 

In regards to the use of vaccines, a spokesperson for the ministry said that it is one of the options being reviewed, but no decision will be made immediately since there is a need to look at various conditions.

 

He said in the case of Japan, vaccines were used to stem the outbreak this year, although the animals were destroyed afterward. Such a move could lead to greater cost outlays since the government has to cover the vaccine shots and compensation for culled animals.

 

Vaccinating 100,000 heads of cattle or pigs could cost KRW600 million (US$520,793) to KRW700 million (US$607,608), although the number of shots that may have to be administered could go up. There are about 13 million heads of cattle and pigs in the country along with smaller numbers of cloven-hoofed animals such as deer, goat and sheep.

 

Official sources said that the cost of culling animals has already exceeded KRW300 billion (US$260 million), making the latest outbreak the most severe FMD outbreak reported so far.