S. Korea reports additional foot-and-mouth disease case, total at 5

Seoul, March 16 (IANS) South Korea on Sunday confirmed an additional foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) case at a local farm, raising the number of cases this year to five, the agriculture ministry said.

The latest case was found at a beef cattle farm in the county of Muan, about 290 kilometers south of Seoul, where three cows were confirmed to have been infected, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, reports YOnhap news agency.

The country on Friday reported the first FMD outbreak at a local farm since May 2023 and found three additional cases in the county of Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, the following day.

All of the cattle at the affected farm were to be culled in a preventive step, the ministry said, adding it will take other necessary quarantine measures.

The government raised the crisis level for Muan and several other adjacent regions to “serious,” the highest level of its four-tier system, and has begun a nationwide FMD vaccination program, initially planned for next month.

As a severe and highly transmissible viral disease, FMD causes illness in cows, pigs, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals. It does not affect humans.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok has directed relevant ministries to implement thorough preventive measures to contain the outbreak at an early stage.

“The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs must closely cooperate with relevant agencies to swiftly carry out emergency actions, including rapid culling, entry controls, testing and disinfection, in accordance with the emergency response guidelines,” Choi said.

Earlier in January, South Korea placed an import ban on German pork following an outbreak of the highly contagious FMD disease in the European nation, Yonhap reported.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said the decision was made after Germany reported its first FMD case since 1988.

—IANS

na/