MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

South Korea reports outbreak of FMD; officials say 147.173 livestock destroyed

FMD is spreading much faster than anticipated by Korean sanitary experts

South Korea reported on Monday a further case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the south-eastern part of the country, according to Seoul's Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The ministry said that the new case of the highly contagious disease was found in a cattle farm in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province. A precautionary quarantine area has been established all cattle from the farm are to be culled and buried along with all cloven-hoofed animals within a 500-meter radius.

This is the first case discovered outside of the Andong area where the disease was first reported last week.

Since the November outbreak of FMD, South Korean officials have been forced to destroy a total of 147,173 heads of livestock from 628 different farms. FMD is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease that attacks cloven-hoofed animals including pigs, sheep and goats. Humans are not affected by the virus.

South Korea reported its last outbreak of the animal disease in April 2010, the first since 2002.The country was cleared free of the disease on Sept. 27 by the Paris based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

According to Korean sanitary officials so far the disease has been found in seven areas nationwide: Andong, Yecheon, Yeongyang, Bonghwa, Yeongju, Yeongdeok and Uiseong.