Epidemic strikes livestock in South Korea
SEOUL: The highly communicable foot-and-mouth disease has infected livestock
in at least one of South Korea's major cattle and pig producing areas, a
government official said on Sunday.
It was the first confirmed outbreak of the disease in Asia since foot-and
mouth disease wiped out nearly all of Taiwan's pigs three years ago.
Symptoms of the disease began showing up in at least two areas of South
Korea last month, and officials already are slaughtering infected animals,
quarantining farms and forbidding them to transport livestock.
On March 26, 13 head of cattle also were destroyed at three farms in
southern Japan, 10 of which had showed foot-and-mouth symptoms. But Japan
has not yet determined whether any of them were suffering from the disease.
Nevertheless, even before Sunday's announcement in Seoul, Japan and South
Korea both had stopped importing beef and pork from one another, and
Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore had banned them from both
countries.
"The disease that infected cattle in the Paju area is confirmed to be
foot-and-mouth disease," Chin Young-hwa, a spokesman at the National
Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, said in an interview with The
Associated Press on Sunday. "We will continue to take measures as we have
been already."
Paju, the first area where foot-and-mouth symptoms were discovered in South
Korea last month, is a small city located 50 km (31 miles) north of Seoul,
the capital.
Foot-and-mouth disease often leaves animals with falling appetites, fevers,
and blisters around their mouths and feet. The highly communicable disease
can cause death and ruin entire beef and milk cow herds. Unlike mad cow
disease, which is believed to cause a brain-wasting ailment in humans,
foot-and-mouth disease cannot be passed on to people.
On Friday, South Korea said it would destroy 350,000 cattle and pigs to
contain the suspected disease. The government also plans to buy the meat or
reimburse farmers who have to sell their meat at lower prices.
Over the weekend, 93 head of cattle and pigs were killed in Hongsong, a
country 100 km (62 miles) south of Seoul and the second area where symptoms
were discovered. Tests were still being conducted in Hongsong to determine
whether foot-and-mouth disease was infecting its livestock, too.
Last week, 105 head of cattle were slaughtered in Paju. The last time
foot-and-mouth disease broke out in Asia - in Taiwan in 1997 - the country
destroyed 3.6 million pigs, 80 percent of its overall number.
South Korea's vice agriculture minister, Kim Dong-gun, said on Sunday that
13 cows at two farms in Hongsong were first found to have severe blisters in
their mouths on March 19, and preliminary tests suggested the cause may have
been foot-and-mouth disease. The animals were killed.
As a precautionary measure, 80 other cows and pigs in nearby farms were
slaughtered and buried, Kim said. Television footage showed soldiers setting
up roadblocks and checking all vehicles and travelers moving to and from
several villages in Hongsong.
Residents were not allowed to transport their livestock, and all vehicles
moving in and out of the area were forced to roll slowly across thick spongy
rugs doused with chemicals that suppress the disease. Authorities were
inoculating hundreds of thousands of animals in the two areas. Officials
burned barns and suspended imports of Chinese hay suspected of having
transmitted the disease.
South Korea last year exported 89,000 tons of pork to Japan, the largest
destination for the country's pork exports. South Korea exports little
beef.(AP)
For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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