S.Korea Confirms Foot-And-Mouth in Pigs, Tests Cow

[Guest guest]

For shocking Photo see:

http://www.aapn.org/foodandmedicineanimals.html (scroll down to pigs)

 

5th May 2002

By Cho Mee-young

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Saturday confirmed an outbreak

of foot-and-mouth disease in pigs and said it had discovered a suspected

infection of a cow, prompting plans for an immediate cull of more than

10,000 animals.

 

The confirmation is a blow to the livestock industry, which only

on Monday restarted some exports of pork after foot-and-mouth outbreaks in

early 2000 halted $400 million of annual pork shipments.

 

Kim Ok-kyung, director general of South Korea's National

Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, told reporters it had found

foot-and-mouth in pigs at farms near Seoul.

 

" The close examination finally confirmed foot-and-mouth

disease, " Kim said, adding the virus was of the same type that hit some

cattle at local farms in early 2000.

 

Vice Minister of Agriculture Suh Kyu-yong said the country

planned to cull 10,400 livestock during the day to prevent the disease

spreading, more than double the number planned on Friday, when suspicions of

an outbreak were announced.

 

The number includes the 5,000 pigs from the farm where the

initial discoveries were made, he said.

 

The outbreak comes as South Korea gears up for a huge influx of

tourists for the soccer World Cup it co-hosts with Japan between May 31 and

June 30.

 

The disease is not dangerous to humans but highly infectious and

deadly to pigs, cattle, deer and other hoofed animals.

 

CATTLE INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY

 

Suh said one milk cow at a farm 10 km (six miles) southwest of

Seoul had showed symptoms of the disease such as a loss of appetite and

dribbling.

 

" The close examination (on the cow) is underway to confirm the

disease, " Suh said.

 

The agriculture ministry said on Friday two pigs out of 5,000

were found dead at a farm in Ansong, Kyonggido, about 60 km (38 miles) south

of Seoul and initial testing had shown possible foot-and-mouth disease.

 

Another farm in Chinchon, Chungchongbukdo, about 20 km (12.43

miles) south of the affected farm, tested positive for foot-and-mouth in

pigs, Kim said.

 

The government has not yet decided to vaccinate livestock on

neighboring farms against the disease as the country would then have to wait

longer to apply for the clean bill of health needed to resume meat exports.

 

" So far destruction is our basic policy, " Suh said, adding the

ministry might vaccinate if the disease spread widely.

 

Korea, which does not export beef, in September won a clean bill

of health following the last outbreak and partially resumed pork exports on

Monday after a gap of over two years.

 

The exports, nearly all to Japan, came only from Cheju island

because of outbreaks on the mainland last month of swine fever, a highly

infectious pig disease that is not dangerous to humans.

 

The exports from Cheju, about 440 km (273 miles) south of Seoul,

have now been halted, agriculture ministry officials said. Japan had anyway

immediately banned imports of pork and pork products from South Korea

following Friday's announcement of suspected foot-and-mouth.

 

The ministry will also expand the temporary closure of local

livestock trading markets after it closed six temporarily. It did not

elaborate.

 

On Friday, Suh noted that it cost South Korea some 300 billion

won ($233.6 million) in dealing with foot-and-mouth outbreaks in cattle

between March and April 2000.

 

The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, funded by

farmers groups, has decided to spend 800 million won to prevent the disease

from spreading. ($1=1284.0 Won)