MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

North Korea with FAO and OIE aid combating trans-boundary FMD outbreaks

The country’s pigs and cattle have been exposed to the disease

North Korea has accepted a team of animal health specialists from FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to assist veterinary authorities in combating outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth disease among pigs and cattle, which seem to be endemic in the country.

The group consists of a veterinarian specializing in FMD and trans-boundary animal diseases, a logistics officer and a laboratory technician fielded by FAO, and a veterinarian specialist in disease management from OIE.

North Korean veterinary officials are also participating in the mission, which is a collaborative effort between the two organisations and Pyongyang.

The aim of the mission which has been working for the last two weeks is to assess the situation on the ground in order to provide situation-specific guidance and technical assistance to North Korean veterinary officials to help them contain outbreaks and stop further spread of the disease.

The FAO-OIE team will also help North Korea with longer-term prevention planning. For example, testing samples of the virus involved in the outbreaks to acquire a precise understanding of its genetic make-up will allow North Korea to identify the most appropriate and effective vaccines to use.

FMD is a highly contagious disease affecting cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, swine and other cloven-hoofed animals. It does not pose a direct health threat to humans, but affected animals become too weak to be used to plough the soil or reap harvests, and farmers cannot sell the milk they produce, which can severely impact household food security.

Neighbouring South Korea which has strict measures regarding FMD prevention practices and is one of the most difficult countries to access with meat because of the sanitary controls has been undergoing extensive outbreaks of the disease.