By Kim Rahn
Bird flu is spreading northward to Seoul and metropolitan areas from central parts of the country.
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), in the meantime, has affected nearly all parts of the country, threatening the southernmost regions the most.
The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) confirmed Monday that ducks at a farm in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, and another farm in Naju, South Jeolla Province, tested positive for the virulent strain of H5N1 avian influenza.
Anseong was the third region to be hit by the disease since Dec. 29, with previous cases breaking out in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and Iksan, North Jeolla Province.
The avian flu outbreak was confirmed at 10 poultry farms in these provinces, with an additional 10 farms having reported suspected cases of the highly contagious bird disease. Some wild birds in South Gyeongsang Province were also found dead from H5N1.
Upon the news that the bird disease is spreading, quarantine officials are in a plight, as they have already been fighting FMD.
The disease, which first hit a pig farm in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Nov. 29, has now spread nationwide, except for South Jeolla Province and Jeju Island.
More than 50 cities and counties have been affected by FMD over the last 40 days, with around 1.4 million cows, pigs, goats and deer having been culled.
Vaccination is underway for over 2.1 million animals in some 100 regions, and some 1.3 trillion won in state funds has been earmarked for quarantine efforts and as compensation to livestock farmers. If the selective vaccination fails to halt the disease, the government may have to expand the vaccination program to include the whole country.
The quarantine authorities have imported vaccines from England and will import more from Japan, but this action is considered belated.
As there is no sign of the epidemic abating, livestock industry watchers say the sector may not be able to recover from the damage for at least two years. Gyeonggi Province said last Wednesday that about 48 percent of the region’s cows and pigs had been slaughtered, and the number has probably increased since then.