By Chung Hyun-chae
The sixth case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed Sunday at a cattle farm in Boeun County, North Chungcheong Province, agriculture authorities said Monday.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, three cows out of a total of 171 at the farm tested positive for the contagious virus, with all infected livestock culled after showing symptoms including drooling and blisters.
This farm is located 2.4 kilometers from a dairy farm that reported the first confirmed FMD case one week ago.
Since the first outbreak was confirmed in Boeun, three more confirmed cases have been reported there so far.
More than 1,200 cattle throughout the country were culled over the past week as the disease spread across the nation.
Controversy over vaccination efficacy is growing, as antibody formation in the latest confirmed case was 81 percent, which was above the standard limit of 80 percent, meaning vaccination was ineffective.
The antibody formations in some farms previously infected with the disease were even higher.
The ministry has completed vaccinating 2.83 million out of 3.3 million cattle across the nation as of Monday.
It usually takes one week for antibodies to form in full.
The confirmed case reported in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, proved to be type A, the first such case in seven years.
Following the simultaneous outbreak of two of the seven types of the disease ― A and O ― the ministry issued its highest alert level, Thursday.
The ministry announced Monday that both FMD types O and A came from overseas, including Bangladesh, Russia, Vietnam and Myanmar.
The government decided to import vaccines for both types for 1.6 million cows before the end of this month in order to deal with different strains of the animal disease.
FMD, which rarely affects humans, is often fatal for cloven-hoofed animals, such as cows, sheep and pigs.
The sixth case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed Sunday at a cattle farm in Boeun County, North Chungcheong Province, agriculture authorities said Monday.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, three cows out of a total of 171 at the farm tested positive for the contagious virus, with all infected livestock culled after showing symptoms including drooling and blisters.
This farm is located 2.4 kilometers from a dairy farm that reported the first confirmed FMD case one week ago.
Since the first outbreak was confirmed in Boeun, three more confirmed cases have been reported there so far.
More than 1,200 cattle throughout the country were culled over the past week as the disease spread across the nation.
Controversy over vaccination efficacy is growing, as antibody formation in the latest confirmed case was 81 percent, which was above the standard limit of 80 percent, meaning vaccination was ineffective.
The antibody formations in some farms previously infected with the disease were even higher.
The ministry has completed vaccinating 2.83 million out of 3.3 million cattle across the nation as of Monday.
It usually takes one week for antibodies to form in full.
The confirmed case reported in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, proved to be type A, the first such case in seven years.
Following the simultaneous outbreak of two of the seven types of the disease ― A and O ― the ministry issued its highest alert level, Thursday.
The ministry announced Monday that both FMD types O and A came from overseas, including Bangladesh, Russia, Vietnam and Myanmar.
The government decided to import vaccines for both types for 1.6 million cows before the end of this month in order to deal with different strains of the animal disease.
FMD, which rarely affects humans, is often fatal for cloven-hoofed animals, such as cows, sheep and pigs.
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