South Korea Raises Alert Level as Foot-and-Mouth Disease Spreads Nationwide

[Treyfish]

2010-12-29 13:223<SCRIPT language=javascript type=text/javascript>pubajax('http://english.ntdtv.com/click.aspx','id=995158607060','click_995158607060' );</SCRIPT>



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Nearly 470,000 cattle, pigs and sheep have been culled in attempt to contain a fast-spreading outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in South Korea.

[Maeng Hyung-kyu, Minister of Public Administration and Security]:
"On December 29th we have raised the alert level of cattle disease to 'red' and decided to form a central anti-disaster headquarters, which will be chaired by the Minister of Public Administration and Security, so that we can use all available resources to help stem the disease."

The disease is spread by a highly contagious virus that affects cloven-hoofed animals. But the disease and meat from infected animals are not harmful to humans.

The government said vaccines would be administered to over 236,000 animals in 12 regions.

The disease has prompted the closure of nearly 100 livestock markets throughout the country and has increased prices of beef and pork. It could cause a rise in exports from the United States and Australia.


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[Treyfish]

Re: South Korea Raises Alert Level as Foot-and-Mouth Disease Spreads Nationwide

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=6 cellPadding=0 width=468><TBODY><TR><TD background=/www/news/images/view_title.gif><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" height=20><TBODY><TR><TD class=style7 height=70 align=middle>Highest alert level issued for foot-and-mouth disease</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>

By Kim Rahn

The government raised the alert level for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) to ?serious,? Wednesday, and established a pan-government crisis center to keep the deadly disease from spreading further.

The move comes one month after the first outbreak was reported. The crisis center ? comprised of central and local government officials and police officers ? will orchestrate quarantine, decontamination, vaccination and all other countermeasures that have been divided up among government agencies.

The measures were announced after related ministries held a meeting, and come after the highly contagious virus spread to five cities and provinces after the first outbreak in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Nov. 29.

This is the first time here for the government to raise its alert level to the highest and form such a task force for an animal disease.

Public Administration and Security Minister Maeng Hyung-kyu asked people and cattle farm owners to cooperate in halting the spread of FMD.

?To prevent the virus from spreading further, it is required to thoroughly disinfect farm facilities and control access to farms. We ask livestock farm owners to immediately report any cases of the disease to the authorities and actively cooperate in the government?s quarantine measures,? the minister said in a statement.

In the crisis center, central government officials will coordinate related ministries and supervise local quarantine operations. Governments in regions where the disease has not broken out yet will also cooperate in operations, Minister Maeng said.

Some unaffected local governments have decided to halt the movement of cows and pigs in or out of their regions.

More manpower will be mobilized for quarantine operations in addition to some 150,000 officials currently engaged in the work.

Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoo Jeong-bok said the government has asked local authorities to minimize public gatherings in order to prevent the disease from spreading via human vectors.

Despite such efforts, it is worried FMD will spread nationwide, because the government has not been able to pinpoint why the disease broke out and how it has spread. A cow farm in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, was confirmed to be infected Tuesday.

The government has vaccinated 236,000 cows at farms in 12 affected cities and counties. Some 523,000 cows and pigs have been slaughtered and buried so far, and losses are estimated to total 450 billion won.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news...117_78861.html

[Treyfish]

Re: South Korea Raises Alert Level as Foot-and-Mouth Disease Spreads Nationwide

S. Korea reports 7 more cases of FMD
2011/01/02 15:53 KST



<!-- 기사본문 시작 -->(2nd LD) S. Korea reports 7 more cases of FMD
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea confirmed seven additional foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks at beef and milk cattle farms and a pig farm in provincial areas on Sunday despite nationwide quarantine efforts to contain the spread of the highly contagious animal disease, central and provincial government officials said.

The South Chungcheong provincial government said two milk cows at a farm in the central city of Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, have tested positive for FMD.

All 50 animals at the dairy farm have been ordered culled and buried to prevent the spread of FMD, the regional government said, with livestock within a 10km radius of the outbreak not to be moved as a precautionary measure.

A beef cattle farm in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, just southwest of Seoul, was also affected by the animal epidemic, raising fears over potential contagion in Seoul and its vicinity.

All 74 beef cows at the farm were ordered to be destroyed and movement of livestock in or out of the area was prohibited, the FMD control center of Gyeonggi Province said.

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width=354 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Disease control officials disinfect a truck at Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, which carries a herd of culled cattle to burial sites. (Yonhap)
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Another beef cattle farm in Gangwon Province also tested positive for the contagious disease.

All cloven-hoofed and even-toed mammals in a 500-meter radius of the cattle farm located in Gangneung, 238km west of Seoul, were ordered to be culled as part of preventive measures, the Gangwon provincial government said.

Four other farms, including one pig farm, were also found to be infected with FMD, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

So far, 81 animal farms in 37 districts of six provinces have been affected by the recent outbreak of the animal disease, the ministry said.

As 106 suspected cases of infection have been filed so far, the ministry may produce test results on some of the reported cases later in the day, it said.

The latest tally came after the first outbreak was confirmed in Andong, 270 kilometers from Seoul, on Nov. 29 and in the severest outbreak in the country's history.

Seoul reported a total of 81 cases, along with several others that are not included in the official FMD tally because the animals were destroyed before test results were verified, in four provinces and the city of Incheon, west of Seoul.

More than 662,647 animals have been ordered culled, and the vaccination of 452,063 animals at 18,221 farms across the country is under way to stem the disease's spread, with losses estimated at well over 520 billion won (US$463 million).

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width=500 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">A disease control official vaccinates a calf in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province, as part of foot-and-mouth disease control measures. (Yonhap)
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The country was hit by the disease in 2000, 2002 and two more times last year.

Reflecting the grave situation, Seoul announced on Dec. 22 that it would start vaccinating cattle and upgraded the country's quarantine alert level to "red" -- the highest in a four-tier response scale. The government has also set up headquarters for central crisis management.

FMD is highly contagious and affects all cloven-hoofed animals, such as cattle, pigs, deer, goats and buffalo, although it is harmless to humans. It is classified as a "List A" disease by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.
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